A delightful book with an interesting twist. Go to a specific café, sit in a specific chair, drink a cup of coffee, time travel. The twist is you must return before the coffee gets cold. Four interconnecting stories bring us stories that resonate. They deal with relationships and changed hearts, and ultimately, changed lives.

This book was originally written as a play and then adapted into a book. As it is a translation from Japanese, I don't think it translated very well in places. In a few spots in the book, the writing seems to amble this way and that. I'm sure a few phrases were "lost in translation".

However, it is beautiful book. ( )

I will agree with someone that mentioned that it was written like a theatrical play. The idea and the message is good, however I felt that a lot of character’s stories were rushed and unfinished. The author spent more time describing unnecessary things than actually focusing on the plot. Overall it’s a good book, but I am left with a feeling that I wanted more! I’m left with a feeling of an unfinished story!

I felt disappointed that I was left with many unanswered questions.
For example, we didn’t get an answer/a story telling us about the Ghost Lady! Who is she? How she became the Ghost? What was her story that made her not finishing her coffee before it got cold?

"Before the Coffee Gets Cold" by Toshikazu Kawaguchi is a novel that revolves around time travel and the stories of individuals who visit a mysterious café.

Here are ten potential lessons or themes that readers might take away from the book:

1. The Fragility of Time:

2. Value of Connection:

3. Consequences of Actions:

4. Appreciation for the Present:

5. Regret and Redemption:

6. The Power of Communication:

7. Embracing Change:

8. Understanding Others' Perspectives:

9. Gratitude for Second Chances:

10. Living Authentically: ( )

I thought this was a cute little read an a enjoyable story. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I didn't not listen to others. I thought it would be a more though provoking story but I didn't get that when I read it. Another thing I felt is that this book suffers from the translation. I feel that some of the metaphors that where in Japanese probably didn't get conveyed over in English. Overall, I would still find myself recommending this book to others. ( )

This book was fine. It read more like a play in my head, but I believe it *was* a play before a book ... and the setting and characters just lend themselves more to that. I'm sure some of the emotional and dramatic stuff is lost in the translation and cultural differences (translated from Japanese). But overall it's still a fun little read with an interesting premise and you get to read about some interesting characters. ( )

In Tokyo, there is a cafe with a chair that has the ability to transport someone who sits in it through time. You can't change the past while you're there, but you can talk to people who are (or were, or will be) in the cafe at the time, giving at least a few people the opportunity to revisit certain moments, or conversations, or loved ones.

It's a fantastic premise, packed with possibilities for both whimsy and real emotional punch, and I'd seen the novel described as both moving and charming, so I was hoping for something rather lovely. But, boy, did it not live up to expectations. The writing was just... Well, look. Quite possibly the translation from Japanese did it a bit of a disservice, and maybe differences in cultural expectations for pacing and such don't help, either, but even after making allowances for all of that, the writing is just... not good? It's incredibly repetitive -- we're told the not-actually-very-complicated rules about the time-traveling at length probably nine different times in the course of 272 small pages -- plus it's almost exclusively telling us things it should be showing us, and not even doing that especially well. The specific situations of the characters and the reasons they want to make use of the time travel chair should actually be really affecting, but the characters are so unbelievable and impossible to sympathize with that, for me at least, it all just falls flat.

At least it's a quick read. And I still think it's a fantastic premise. But I find this novel's popularity befuddling. ( )