• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Kate the (Almost) Great

Chronic illness blog

  • Home
  • Start Here
    • About
    • As Seen On
    • Tags & Topics
    • Popular Posts
  • Blogging Resources
  • Freebie
  • Shop the Blog
    • Products for the Chronically Ill
  • Work with Me
    • Ads and Sponsoring
  • Follow
  • Holiday
    • Gift Guides

in Lifestyle, Uncategorized · July 15, 2014

Welcome to my Bookshelf

I’ve been a voracious reader my entire life. I read anything and everything I got my hands on. Science fiction, realistic fiction, biographies, historical fiction, fantasy, classic literature, religious essays … I love reading and I love books. These are two reasons why I became an English teacher and why I became a writer.

Today I’m going to share with you some of the books I have. I’ve read many more than these, but here are some. To stay up to date with that I’m reading right now or see get other book recommendations, follow me on Goodreads! Oh, and my YouTube video that will come out tomorrow will be about  my absolute favorite ones from this list. Some of these books I acquired from family or friends, and some I bought for school. But if it made it to my bookshelf, it means that I didn’t want to get rid of it.

book recommendations

Shelf 1

classic books
(I love this picture of me and one of my best friends!)

Jane Austen’s Guide to Thrift: An Independent Woman’s Advice on Living within One’s Means / Change of Heart: A Novel (Wsp Readers Club) / Where the Heart Is (Oprah’s Book Club) / The Loves of Charles II: The Stuart Saga / Rediscover Catholicism / Treasure Island (Dover Thrift Editions) / United States Catholic Catechism for Adu / The Picture of Dorian Gray (Dover Thrift Editions) / Dracula (Dover Thrift Editions) / Black Cat and Other Stories, The, Penguin Readers (2nd Edition) / Stardust / Neverwhere: A Novel
Shelf 2

book recommendations

This shelf has a couple of books on education, photo albums, and journals. I’m going to skip those. You may also notice that it has 2 versions of my novel, Aureole. The large version is the very first version I ever had of it. The other is the standard size that you buy.

Here Be Dragons / Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Selected Poems / Catharine: and Other Writings (Oxford World’s Classics) / The End of Harry Potter? / The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Signet Classics) /Aureole / The Raven / Empire Falls / The Courts of Love: The Story of Eleanor of Aquitaine (A Queens of England Novel) / The Sunne In Splendour: A Novel of Richard III / Time and Chance: A Novel (Ballantine Reader’s Circle) / Lionheart: A Novel

Shelf 3

book recommendations

Voyager (Outlander) / Falls the Shadow: A Novel / Anna Karenina (Modern Library Classics) / When Christ and His Saints Slept: A Novel / The Reckoning / Little Men: Life at Plumfield with Jo’s Boys (Puffin Classics) / Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World / Vanishing Acts: A Novel / One Hundred Years of Solitude (P.S.) / Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them (P.S.) / The Other Boleyn Girl / The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War (Civil War Trilogy) / Handle with Care: A Novel / Picture Perfect / The Tenth Circle: A Novel / A Catholic Dictionary / Making All Things New: An Invitation to the Spiritual Life / Mansfield Park: (Classics hardcover) (Clothbound Classics) / Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Book 1) / Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets / Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban / Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire / Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix / Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6) / Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
Shelf 4

book recommendations

Atonement: A Novel / Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander) / An Echo in the Bone: A Novel (Outlander) / Drums of Autumn (Outlander) / Daughter of Fortune: A Novel / Gone with the Wind, 75th Anniversary Edition / A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Outlander)
Shelf 5

book recommendations

Outlander / Les Miserables [Abridged] Publisher: Fawcett; Abridged edition / The Rape of the Lock and Other Poems (Signet Classic Poetry Series) / The Secret Of The Rosary / The Canterbury Tales / The Brothers Karamazov (Bantam Classics) / Vanity Fair (Clothbound Classics) / Jane Eyre / The Scarlet Letter (Dover Thrift Editions) / P.S. You’re Not Listening (Signet)
Shelf 6

book recommendations


The Queen’s Secret: A Novel (A Queens of England Novel) / Victoria Victorious: The Story of Queen Victoria / Emma / Mere Christianity / The Problem of Pain / “They Say / I Say”: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (Third Edition) / Don Juan / Northanger Abbey / Persuasion /Sense and Sensibility (Collins Classics) / Faith Filled Classroom: Top 10 Ideas That Really Work

PS – This is nowhere near my full book collection. I have a sizable amount of books that are in my classroom library, in storage, and in other rooms of my apartment. I may have a small book hoarding problem.

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.

Share this with your family and friends:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr

Related

Previous Post: « How Much Should We Share? Internet Tips for Website Safety
Next Post: Favorite Books + Easy Eye Makeup »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. ALEXANDRA BOOTHBY says

    July 15, 2014 at 12:16 pm

    Thanks for sharing your heart.

    I have been inspired to share my journey with Huntingtons Disease.
    http://Www.livingwithpassion90.blogspot.com

    Loading...
    Reply
  2. Rebecca says

    July 15, 2014 at 1:00 pm

    A book hoarding problem is the best kind of hoarding problem to have, in my opinion.

    Loading...
    Reply
  3. Sarah Farris says

    July 15, 2014 at 1:20 pm

    I love this post! I think I will love a lot of those because you have a ton that I've already loved and read!

    Loading...
    Reply
  4. Alison says

    July 15, 2014 at 9:10 pm

    So awesome!!! I love it. Although I totally understand why you were kicking yourself for writing this post… it seems like it would take forever. I will definitely be adding some of these to my own Goodreads list! Thanks for taking the time to post it all!

    Loading...
    Reply
  5. eHa says

    July 16, 2014 at 10:42 pm

    Book hoarding seems like a classic English teacher type problem. But, since everyone I know hordes books (my dad has storage units full of them) it doesn't actually seem like a problem because everyone does it.

    Loading...
    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. March Favorites - Kate the (Almost) Great | Boston Lifestyle Blog says:
    March 30, 2016 at 8:01 am

    […] Check out my bookshelf! […]

    Loading...
    Reply
  2. Kate the (Almost) Great | Boston Lifestyle Blog - January Favorites - Kate the (Almost) Great | Boston Lifestyle Blog says:
    January 31, 2017 at 8:00 am

    […] Welcome to My Bookshelf | My All-Time Favorite Books | The 5 Books That Changed My Life […]

    Loading...
    Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Kate the (Almost) Great® is a chronic illness lifestyle blog. It is a resource for chronic illness patients and their loved ones.

  • Bluesky
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Categories

Health
Lifestyle
Writing & Blogging

Pages To Start With

  • About Kate the (Almost) Great®: Meet the Health Blogger
  • As Seen On
  • Follow
  • Health Blog Resources I Actually Use + Recommend
  • Newsletter
  • Popular Posts
  • Privacy Policy & Disclaimer Policy
  • Products for the Chronically Ill: My Recommendations
  • Shop
  • Start Here
  • Tags & Topics
  • Work with Me

Search

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This blog uses affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Kate the (Almost) Great!

Sign Up for the Newsletter

Please wait...

Thank you for sign up!


Bluehost.com Web Hosting $3.95

Health Union Patient Leader Certification

Support KTAG

If you like what I do, please support me on Ko-fi.




Footer

Sign Up for FREE Instagram Challenge

Get 25 FREE Instagram prompts for chronic health creators!

You can unsubscribe anytime. For more details, review our Privacy Policy.

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Get your FREE Instagram challenge here 

and 

For just $5 get your copy of my ebook Take Your Blog (And Income!) to the Next Level with code "greatest".

.

Kate the (Almost) Great

Chronic health lifestyle blog

Lets Go!
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
Week 21 of #2025Weekly ⁣ ⁣ 1️⃣ A great wel Week 21 of #2025Weekly ⁣
⁣
1️⃣ A great welcome home to Maine 🌈⁣
2️⃣ Feeling back to normal after my infusion a few weeks ago!⁣
3️⃣ Felt so good to finish work and then go sit on the dock ☺⁣
⁣
◾⁣
⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣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⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
◾⁣
⁣
1️⃣ A rainbow over some trees⁣
2️⃣ Kate takes a selfie. She's wearing a black-and-white striped dress, a silver celtic knot necklace, and round tortoisehsell glasses.⁣
3️⃣ A dock on a lake. There's a flag pole with the American flag and the Maine state flag.⁣
⁣
#AlmostGreatHealth #AlmostGreatLife #ChronicallyIll #SpoonieLife #RheumatoidArthritis #RheumatoidDisease #Autoimmune #ButYouDontLookSick #AutoimmuneDisease #SpoonieLife #InvisibleIllness #DisabledAndCute #MaineLife #MaineTheWay #MaineThing #Vacationland #207
Yes, I did give my Finch avatar a navy dress and p Yes, I did give my Finch avatar a navy dress and pink cane. What of it? 

(Not sponsored, by the way. But if you want to gamify taking care of yourself, I recommend checking out Finch.) 

_______ 

Video: a series of videos taken of Kate and her day over the course of the day. There are times stamps in white text over the videos. Kate is a white woman with red-brown hair who wears round tortoiseshell glasses or black aviator sunglasses. Music plays. 

#almostgreatlife #almostgreathealth #chronicallyill #dayinmylifevlog #explore #invisblyill
Learning about my body: Wow, it’s incredible how Learning about my body: Wow, it’s incredible how much we know about the human body!⁣
⁣
Also learning about my body: Do we know anything at all about the human body?⁣
⁣
◾ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate. Follow me for more content for chronic illness patients and their loved ones!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
◾ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
ID: Screenshots of a thread post written by katethealmostgreat. The text reads what's about the first black box.⁣
⁣
#AlmostGreatHealth #rheumatoidarthritis #arthritis #spoonielife #healthblogger #autoimmune #autoimmunedisease #chronicallyill #healthblog #dysautonomia #fibro #fibromyalgia #endo #chronicallyill #disability #disabled #invisibleillness #DisabledAndCute #spoonielife #healthblogger
Live for yourself 💖 _______ Video: a series Live for yourself 💖 

_______ 

Video: a series of videos featuring Kate. This includes her working on a laptop, drinking, showing off her dress, and opening her kindle.
Week 20 of #2025Weekly ⁣ ⁣ I did very little l Week 20 of #2025Weekly ⁣
⁣
I did very little last week! So little I forgot to schedule this post. I the week at my parents’ while recovering from my infusion. Thankfully I had a fluffy nurse to help! And then I spent the rest of the week catching up from what I missed while dealing with my infusion. ⁣
⁣
▪ ⁣
⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣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⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
▪ ⁣
⁣
ID: a golden retriever walks towards the camera on a red rug. There’s a dog toy in his mouth and another one on the rug. ⁣
⁣
 #AlmostGreatHealth #AlmostGreatLife #ChronicallyIll #SpoonieLife #RheumatoidArthritis #RheumatoidDisease #Autoimmune #ButYouDontLookSick #AutoimmuneDisease #SpoonieLife #InvisibleIllness #RetrieversOfInstagram
I don’t think health problems are “deserved” I don’t think health problems are “deserved” or a punishment but I do think if I didn’t have mine I would have the time and energy to take over the world, so … 

_______ 

Video: Kate runs a hand through her hair. White text reads “How I feel knowing that God gave me chronic health issues because I would be too powerful without them”. The audio says “cause I’m too messy and I’m too fuckin clean they told me to get a job”. Kate is a redheaded white woman wearing a green dress with white flowers on it, a black shawl, a silver Celtic knot necklace, and round tortoiseshell glasses 

#AlmostGreatLife #SpoonieHumor #InvisiblyIll
The most common question I get about sharing my ex The most common question I get about sharing my experience with chronic illness is "How do you deal with it?" These 3 quotes are sources of inspiration and indicative of how I do it. ⁣
⁣
1. "Guard your time fiercely. Be generous with it, but be intentional about it." - Davd Duchemin⁣
I am SO intentional with my time. Even when I (rarely) do spur-of-the-moment fun things, I'm doing mental calculations of how to make it happen. ⁣
⁣
2. "Find out who you are and do it on purpose." - Dolly Parton⁣
That's what my blog and advocacy work is. I figured out who I am: someone who helps other patients, who shares her story, who tries to change the world. And I'm doing it on purpose. ⁣
⁣
3. "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but power, love, and self-discipline." - 2 Timothy 1:7 ⁣
I will be afraid some times (we all will) but my spirit is not one of fear or timidity. My spirt of power, love, and self-discipline enables me to keep fighting for myself and others. ⁣
⁣
◾ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate. Follow me for more content for chronic illness patients and their loved ones!⁣
⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣◾ ⁣
⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ID: Screenshots of Bluesky posts written by Kate Mitchell | Kate the (Almost) Great with the username katethealmostgreat.bsky.social. ⁣⁣The background is dark teal. The text on each post is one of the quotes mentioned above.
Click the link in my bio to get my medical appoint Click the link in my bio to get my medical appointment freebie! 

_______ 

Video: a series of videos. The first 2 are from doctor’s offices. The most important one is the 3rd which is a screen share of the document. It shows space for medical history, current medical problems, medications, family history, and more. There are captions. 

#AlmostGreatHealth #ChronicIllness #ChronicPain #RheumatoidArthritis #RheumatoidDisease #Fibro #Endometriosis #Endo #POTS #Dysautonomia #SjogrensSyndrome #Sjogrens #Fibromyalgia
Here are just some of the things that make me happ Here are just some of the things that make me happy. Share yours in the comments!⁣
⁣
▪ Being home in Maine⁣
▪ Spending time with family ... especially when we get to dress up!⁣
▪ Baking. It's really nice to make a finished product that then gets to be enjoyed! (Not to mention that when I cook or bake I can make meals and donuts and cookies that I can eat)⁣
▪ Medieval stuff but ESPECIALLY weird medieval stuff⁣
⁣
Obviously I know that I'm more than my illnesses - just because I don't have a ton of followers doesn't mean that this isn't a curated account with a purpose - but this is who I am outside of the Internet.⁣
⁣
◾⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
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⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
◾⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
IDs: ⁣
▪ A dock over a lake ⁣
▪ Kate, Kathy, Tricia, David, and Emily stand in front of a stone wall.⁣
▪ Looking down at a counter where Kate is mixing ingredients and other ingredients are ready to be used.⁣⁣
▪ Kate holds the book Weird Medieval Guys⁣
⁣
#AlmostGreatLife #MaineLife #207 #MaineTheWay #MaineThing #BakersOfInstagram #GlutenFreeBaking #GlutenFreeLife #SpoonieLife #InvisibleIllness
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2025 · Kate the (Almost) Great · Design by Studio Mommy

%d