Growing up, I was an avid reader. I loved to read and there was almost always a book on my nightstand.

Fast forward to adulthood and, well, while the passion for reading was still there, time was not. I had a full-time job that wasn’t just 9-to-5, Monday to Friday. I loved my job but any downtime usually included something that didn’t require too much brainpower or focus. I still read but it was rare. The most reading I did was newspapers and online articles. By the time I moved on from an office job to full-time freelancer, I read the occasional book. I kind of wanted to read but at the same time, I didn’t.

It was some time last year when I started to feel that desire to read regularly again and when I moved to Toronto, the desire got stronger. I discovered that the library had a branch that was a 10-minute walk from my place. Sweet. I kept telling myself I was going to get a library card and, finally, a couple of weeks ago, I did.

I requested several books and when the first two were ready for pick-up, I put the others on hold. I didn’t know if I’d still read as quickly as I had been back in the day or how much time it would take for me to get into the book. With the latter, you just never know.

As it turns out, my reading pace hasn’t changed. The two books I had were Big Little Lies and The Girl on the Train. I decided to start with the former because of its length (460 pages compared to 316 for the latter). I read it in three days. Even though I had lots of time for it, I didn’t expect to get through it that quickly.

I enjoyed Big Little Lies. Liane Moriarty kept me on my toes with regards to the identities of those involved in the main incident that’s alluded to at the start, and I liked the way she included the conversations related to it in some chapters (with the right touch of humour in those bits). She also surprised me with the connection between two of the main characters and the revelation later on related to it. I probably should have figured it out earlier but only realized it when one of those main characters said something just before the reveal.

I was, however,  a tad disappointed when I found out which characters were at the centre of the incident. I expected more from that. If you’ve read the book, you probably understand what I mean.

Overall, though, I definitely recommend the book. I haven’t seen the HBO series, so I’ll have to check that out, too. But first, time to read The Girl on the Train.