This is a special First Friday Recap because it also happens to be my birthday! 

If you know me (even a little bit), you'll know that I adore my birthday. I am not sure I'll ever understand those people who dread their birthdays  Sure, it means I'm a year older, but since not aging isn't really an option, I'll definitely take getting older over the alternative! I may not be where I thought I'd be at this point in my life, but I'm appreciative for the years and experiences that I've had. And, like the beginning of a new year, this is an opportunity for a fresh start, another chance to make my life whatever I want it to be!

April was another productive month, reading wise, and I'm finally on pace to meet my 2013 reading goal (per goodreads). Whether I'll stay caught up remains to be seen, but I'm feeling satisfied that I am least on pace. An added bonus, I have nearly passed last year's total, so no matter what happens from here on out, it's at least an improvement!

I finished 13 books this month (shown below-click for the goodreads profile)

Some Stats for April

• 12 Fiction, 1 Non-Fiction
• 1 book purchased, 12 borrowed
• 3 YA
• 5 books that are part of a series (4 different series)
• 0 Rereads
• 1 - 5 Star book
• 3 - 4 Star books
• 8 - 3 Star books
• 1 - 2 Star book
• 4881pages read

I really should quit letting myself get into so many books at one time. While I may not be a squirrel, sometimes I definitely have the attention span of one.

My currently reading shelf is a little out of control:

• Happier at Home - This book is intentionally taking a long time. I'm taking my time and only reading a chapter here and there.
• Player Piano - I continue to demonstrate poor study habits...as soon as a book is something I am "supposed" to read, I have the hardest time actually reading it. No matter that absolutely no one other than me cares if I do so or not.
• The Burning Tigris - This one isn't necessarily intentionally slow going, but the style and subject matter aren't the type to be breezed through, thoughtlessly.
• Life After Life - This book was slated for May, but was actually available a little earlier than I expected, so I've started it. Won't quite finish it for this month though.
• Animal, Vegetable Mineral - An old book club selection that I didn't get a chance to finish (my kindle crapped out about 80% of the way through), so one of these days I intend to actually complete it.

My plans for May - Now that I've caught up, I intend to slow down a bit, and just read enough to stay on pace. I'd rather not burn myself out now that I've finally started reading again. Essentially my goal for May is to finish the books that I've started or already borrowed - though of course I am clearly terrible at actually sticking to a plan.

• Book Club: uhhh - I didn't get around to this in April (but we don't meet until the second week of May, so I've got time!
  The Great Gatsby - A reread for me, though it's been at least 10 years, so it will be mostly a fresh look. Prepping to see the Movie together.
• The Vonnegut Project: Yeah....about that...I totally started this book - on April 8th - and then got sidetracked. I'm still only a chapter in, so this goal is also staying the same for May. Going to attempt to read the first two books on my list, Player Piano and The Sirens of Titan. I feel like 1-2 titles a month is probably a reasonable rate for the project, because I obviously need to read other things at the same time. My attention span can't handle too much of one thing for very long.
• Gypsy Boy: My Life in the Secret World of the Romany Gypsies
• Thumped
• Insurgant
• The Girls of Atomic City