On my list is a goal of reading twelve books. It isn’t a very lofty goals, but I’d like to read twelve good, well regarded or highly recommended books. I currently have sixteen books on my list. I like to have options.

One of the books, I’ve been reading for while, while it’s actually come recommended from two people (my husband and my best friend), I’m finding it a bit… Tedious. There are parts of it I like, parts of it I do not, and some of it has down right ticked me off. So, in the meantime, I picked up a different one and chewed through it in two days.

It is that book I want to share with you today. Before the coffee gets cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. it is sort of a collection of four short stories, all interrelated around a small coffee shop in Japan. A special coffee shop, where you can travel back in time. But there are many rules about time traveling, as you might expect. You cannot change the past, first and foremost. The opportunity to go back allows you to relieve the events, but you cannot change them.

This frustrates our would-be travelers, as you can well imagine. Many question the point of travelling back if you cannot change past events! However, all decide to travel back in time anyway, and as expected, all learn something from their respective travels.

The story got me to thinking about what journey I would make, and what I would do, see, or how I would learn from something that had happened in my past. Especially knowing I could not change a past event. What knowledge would I bring forward and enact or how would I view something differently?

It was an interesting lesson in the idea of “shut up and listen” and to not be so quick to react to a situation, sometimes sitting and observing, listening to what someone is saying instead of interjecting our own thoughts and feelings immediately may impact the outcome. Or, perhaps inquiring how someone is or asking a different question could shape the outcome of a conversation, instead of saying nothing or teasing someone we usually joke with.

In a world of act and react, our feeling of needing to protect ourselves continually and an inability to trust our fellow human was an obvious lesson in this book, especially in our own close relationships. Forgiveness, compassion, leading with love, and letting go of past hurt were also clear themes in these stories.

I found the stories bright and uplifting, others may find them sad. While the idea of their journeys may be sad, I found the idea of going back and learning from them was definitely a positive thing, it is never too late to repair and old hurt, even after great loss.

There is a sequel to this book, which I have not read, and I’m undecided if I will read. I think this is like the “Chicken Soup” series, one is good, two isn’t necessarily better. If I read it, I’ll definitely write about it, but as it stands, as a light, well written read, I’d definitely give this a try.