Before the Coffee Gets Cold

By Toshikazu Tawaguchi

A simple, sweet, and whimsical read. This book unassumingly inspires one to keep moving forward in life and let things fall into place. It explores multiple challenges we grapple with as human beings - and our yearning to find comfort in memories, or security in answers or solutions. In doing so, the book reminded me that we might not be able to change our circumstances, but we can choose how to live through them to the fullest.

The framing of the narrative was my favorite part, it uniquely reinforced the themes of the story (which can be kind of cliche sometimes). The use of the time limit - before the coffee gets cold - stands out. It perfectly symbolizes the transient nature of time, and how we often forget about the power a few seconds or minutes actually have.