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in Lifestyle · July 13, 2018

2018 Recent Reads: April-June

Anyone else shocked that we’re halfway through 2018? It felt like I blinked and now it’s suddenly July. But know what that means? (Well, you’re already reading this post, so probably.) The next edition of 2018 Recent Reads! For those of you who are new, while I recap what I’ve read in the Currently series, every 3 months I also go over everything I’ve read in the previous 3 months. This is a fun way for me – and hopefully you- to put all of my book reviews in fewer posts than in my monthly Currently posts.

I read a lot in the last quarter of the year, probably because I had surgery and wasn’t working until recently. I hope this will help you find something good to read, and be sure to comment with your recommendations!

2018 Recent Reads: January-March

This post contains affiliate links. I also received some books in exchange for an honest review. As always, opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting Kate the (Almost) Great!

Reviewing the books I read in April to June to help you find your next book.

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The Girl in the Spider’s Web (3/5) – If the title sounds familiar, it’s probably because this is the 4th book in the Millennium/Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series. Also, it’s going to be a movie starring Claire Foy. While the first 3 books in the series are by Stieg Larsson, this one is by David Lagercrantz, as Larsson died after the 3rd book. I didn’t like this one as much as the 3 by Larsson, and I’m not sure if it’s because it’s by a different author or because of the high standards from the preview books or because of the content. It was slow at the beginning, fast-paced like the others in the middle, and slow (or maybe anti-climactic) at the end. It was an okay book, but not as good as the others. Hopefully the movie will be better! Like last year, I’m participating in Modern Mrs. Darcy’s reading challenge. I read this book for the category “a book in translation,” as the author is Swedish and it was published in Swedish.

The Sun and Her Flowers (4/5) – I also read this for the challenge! More specifically, it fulfilled the category of “a book of poetry, play, or essay collection.” I’m not a poetry person in general, but obviously Rupi Kaur has been allll over the Internet in recent years. I decided to give her a go for the challenge! I really liked it, but I could have done with it being a bit shorter. (But keep in mind that I’m not a poetry person.) As a heads up, there are many poems about sexual assault and the aftermath of it, so if that is something that will trigger you, you might want to skip it.

Crooked Kingdom (5/5) – Ohhhhhhh my god. I loved this book. It’s so good. This is the sequel to Six of Crows (see my review here) and I honestly think it might be better than the first. Six of Crows is about a heist pulled off by teenagers (high school, maybe college age), and Crooked Kingdom is about the aftermath. Another heist is pulled off, shenanigans happen, etc. I couldn’t put it down!

A post shared by Kate ✍🏻Boston Blogger & Writer (@katethealmostgreat) on May 4, 2018 at 9:02am PDT


The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (3/5) – Once again, this fulfilled a category in the reading challenge. In this case, it was the category “a book recommended by someone with great taste.” I was having trouble deciding on a book recommended by someone, so I turned to my Instagram followers, and this was suggested. It was enjoyable, but not awesome. There was a big twist at the end, and that made it a lot better, but it didn’t make it worthy enough for it to get 4 stars. If you’re looking for a book to read while doing other things, though, this is the one for you.

A King’s Ransom (4/5) – I’ve had this book for years, and this year I finally finished it. I decided to make sure I finished it by reading it for the reading challenge. It fulfilled the category “a book by a favorite author” as I looooove Sharon Kay Penman’s books. Like all of her books, this is historical fiction from the Middle Ages. It’s the third in her King Richard I trilogy – the previous ones are Devil’s Brood, which is more about all of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II’s children, and Lionheart – but you don’t need to read the others first. This one covers Richard’s journey back to England after fighting in the Crusades. He was captured, hence the title, and this book covers that, his captivity, the process of getting him back from his captors, and the rest of his life. I don’t know why it took me forever to get into this the first time or two I read this, as this time I flew through it.

book recommendations, book, books, books to read, novel, novels, historical fiction, contemporary fiction

A Great and Terrible King: Edward I and the Forging of Britain (5/5) – I loved this book so much. And it also fulfilled a reading challenge category! I read it for the category “a memoir, biography, or a book of creative nonfiction.” As you can probably gather from the title, it’s a biography about Edward I. (You might recognize him as the king in Braveheart.) He’s a super interesting person who had a huge impact on England and Britain as we know it. To be clear, he wasn’t a great person by my/today’s standards, but he’s super interesting. I loved this book! And lots of my information in my Historical Fun Facts posts from May and June came from this book, so if you find those interesting, check out this book.

My Husband: The Extraordinary History of Nicholas Brome (4/5) – (FYI, I received this book in exchange for an honest review.) If you’ve been reading my book posts – including this post, let’s be honest – you probably know that I like books about England in the Middle Ages. This was super interesting to me because it’s about a man from essentially the middle class (that didn’t entirely exist in medieval England/Europe) who had a small role in the government through the Wars of the Roses, and the story is told from the point of view of his third wife. I found this so interesting for a variety of reasons. 1) I’ve read a lot about the Wars of the Roses, but it has all been about the rules in that time. It was so interesting to read about the impact of those wars on the everyday citizen. 2)

Before the Fall (5/5) – This was another one for the reading challenge. I read it for the category “a book recommended by a librarian or an indie bookseller.” One of my favorite bookstores is Trident Booksellers, which is located in Boston. Sadly, they had a small fire this year, and they have been rebuilding. Luckily for us bookworms who love Trident, though, they have still sold books online. And they have a category of staff picks, and, as you’ve probably figured out, this was one of them. This book centers around the crash of a private plane, including the lead-up to it and the aftermath. Only two people survive the crash, and only one of them is an adult. This is such a good book and I couldn’t put it down!

The Wedding Date (5/5) – This was not intended to be for the reading challenge, but it ended up working for it. It fulfilled the category “a book you can read in a day.” I brought this book with me to Philadelphia, and since it was only going to be a 36-hour trip, I figured I only needed 1 book. I was wrong. This book is so good that I read it in one day and was another one that I couldn’t put down. A girl goes to a wedding with a guy as his pretend girlfriend, and they hit it off. I don’t want to share any more of it, but this is the definition of the perfect summer read! It’s amazing. It’s so cute. You’ll love it.

The Black Book (4/5) – Because I finished The Wedding Date on the same day, I obviously needed a new book to read on the trip home! James Patterson feels like a good plane read, you know? This book is about a cop who was shot along with his girlfriend and partner, and as a result of being shot, doesn’t remember exactly what happened. The book takes place before the shooting and after, giving you multiple sides of the event. It’s very good, and I finished it in 2 days.

The Wife Between Us (4/5) – (I received this book for free.) I really enjoyed this book! There were several twists. I saw one coming, but I didn’t see the others, and quickly I couldn’t put it down. And the twists continue until the end! As a heads up, if domestic violence can upset you, don’t read this book. You can read more about this novel here.

What have you read recently?

Like this post? Check out:

2017 Recent Reads; 20+ Dystopian, Science Fiction, and Fantasy Books To Escape With; 31 Historical Fiction Novels To Take You Back in Time; Why You Should Read and Watch Outlander; Best B

Kate Mitchell

Kate Mitchell is a blogger, chronic illness patient, and advocate who helps people understand chronic illness and helps chronic illness patients live their best lives.

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Having decades-long health problems sometimes mean Having decades-long health problems sometimes means coming across something in your health history that you completely forgot about⁣
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Here are some ways I practice self care, aka talki Here are some ways I practice self care, aka talking care of myself AND who I am as a person separate from illness⁣
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I know it looks like I'm forcing Harley to sit like this, but he was making this face before I put my arm around him. Dog snuggle time is the best!⁣
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I got a Kindle this year and it has been amazing. It's so much easier on my body than lugging around books and it makes borrowing from the library a lot easier.⁣
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Yes, I share this all the time, but filling my pill boxes every 3 weeks make it so I stick with all of my medications. But the self-care part of this is that I don't have to take the time to refill a box every single week.⁣
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3️⃣ A Kindle on dark mode in Kate's lap⁣
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What I Bring To the Doctor _______ Video: a pa What I Bring To the Doctor 

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Video: a pan of an exam room. White text reads “What I Bring To the Doctor ” and the “1. Planner/notebook
2. List of current medications 
3. Notes on my biggest concerns and questions 
4. My kindle for wait time” 
The intro to Maroon 5’s Priceless plays. 

#AlmostGreatHealth #ChronicIllness #ChronicPain #RheumatoidArthritis #SjogrensSyndrome #Fibromyalgia #Endometriosis
💃🏼 Week 17 of #2025Weekly 💃🏼⁣
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1️⃣ She’s married!! ⁣
2️⃣ She married the best person in the world for her!!!!!⁣
3️⃣ I got dressed up! ⁣
4️⃣ The reality of doing fun things with chronic illness and pain is that then you have to recover from the fun things. It took … a while. One million percent worth it, but this is why I don’t do big events on a regular basis. ⁣
5️⃣ And then I had to be a person again for an appointment!⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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3️⃣ Kate takes a mirror selfie. she's in the same red dress but now also wears a jean jacket and holds a cane and mask.⁣
4️⃣ Kate takes a selfie while giving a thumbs up. She looks tired. She's now wearing a pink flowery dress. ⁣
5️⃣ Kate takes a mirror selfie. She's wearing black shorts, a gray shirt, a jean jacket, a blue mask, and black aviator sunglasses. She has a bag over her shoulder and holds a cane.⁣
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On the one hand, you should always believe what pe On the one hand, you should always believe what people tell you about their bodies.⁣
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On the other hand, I’ve had so much ridiculous and unconnected health things happen that I do understand why people might not believe me.⁣
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⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate. Follow me for more content for chronic illness patients and their loved ones!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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Last week, I talked about how it surprised me how Last week, I talked about how it surprised me how systemic autoimmune arthritis can be. But something else that surprised me was how much pain can be caused by small things.⁣
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In this picture, I was getting ready to have an MRI on my knee. It has been bothering me a fair amount the last 6+ months, so I'm trying to do something about that. ⁣
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Unsurprisingly, some of the tissue is damaged, but it's not bad. What's probably causing it to bother me so much is a teeny tiny cyst. ⁣
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Baker's cysts are a type of cyst in the knee that are generally caused by arthritis. But having a cyst in my knee means that it's causing pressure on that damaged tissue. ⁣
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The body is a weird thing, and one of these weird things is developing tiny cysts that cause a lot of pain. ⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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ID: Kate takes a mirror selfie. She's a brunette white woman wearing a hospital gown, scrub bottoms, black mask, round tortoiseshell glasses, and round tortoiseshell glasses. ⁣
🌸 Week 16 of #2025Weekly 🌸 ⁣ ⁣ 1️⃣ S 🌸 Week 16 of #2025Weekly 🌸 ⁣
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1️⃣ Spring has sprung … ⁣
2️⃣ … Which means I am overheating! ⁣
3️⃣ A quick view of NYC on my travels ⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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2️⃣ Kate takes a mirror selfie. She's a brunette white woman wearing a blue t-shirt saying "The Future Is Accessible," a black mask, a green hat reading "Facilities Management), black shorts, a black knee sleeve, and a black knee brace. She holds a pink cane.⁣
3️⃣ A picture of the New York City skyline behind a bridge.⁣
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If I met my newly diagnosed self for coffee ... ⁣
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I tell her how things would get worse before they got better. ⁣
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I'd tell her to stop eating gluten, dairy, corn, soy, and eggs immediately (although that would have been a lot harder in 2010, more than it even is now). ⁣
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I'd tell her that she still needs to keep advocating for herself. ⁣
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I'd tell her that having a diagnosis unfortunately doesn't mean everything automatically falls into place. ⁣
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I'd tell her that she'll develop many more illnesses but her quality of life will actually get significantly better. ⁣
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I'd tell her that she would eventually have to get her right foot fixed, although she does expect that.⁣
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I'd tell her that using a cane is not a sign of failure, but a tool to make life better.⁣
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(I did a sort of tongue-in-cheek post about this a while ago and thought I'd post a more serious one).⁣
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⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate. Follow me for more content for chronic illness patients and their loved ones!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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ID: Kate poses for the camera holding a mug with the letter M on it. Kate is a brunette white woman wearing a blue sweater and round tortoiseshell glasses. A white text box reads "If I met my newly diagnosed self for coffee ...". ⁣
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The thing that surprised me the most about autoimm The thing that surprised me the most about autoimmune arthritis is how systemic it is. ⁣
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Like with most things, it's one thing to know the fact and it's something else to experience it. ⁣
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Yes, my joints are affected (a lot). ⁣
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But I've had enough serious infections thats I have to see an immunologist because we need to be aware of my antibodies and I sometimes need help recovering from illnesses. ⁣
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And, yes, I see pulmonology because of my asthma, but we also have to keep an eye out on developing rheumatoid nodules in my lungs. (So far so good!)⁣
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Not to mention that, when I developed POTS, the hospital admitted me to run every heart test to make sure that, at 26, I wasn't experiencing heart failure. ⁣
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Plus, when I developed endometriosis, I also went through a number of GI tests because one theory was that I had ulcerative colitis. ⁣
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Anyway, RA is so much more than "just" joints. If it wasn't, I wouldn't have to kill my immune system every 3 months like I am in this picture.⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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ID: Kate takes a selfie in an infusion chair. She is a brunette white woman wearing a Boston Red Sox shirt, blue mask, and round tortoiseshell glasses.⁣⁣
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#AlmostGreatHealth #RheumatoidArthritis #RheumatoidDisease #Rheum #Autoimmune #AutoimmuneDisease #InvisibleIllness #ButYouDontLookSick #Sjogrens #SjogrensSyndrome #POTS #PosturalOrthostaticTachycardiaSyndrome #Dysautonomia
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