SEASONS OF STORIES

BOOK CLUB AT SHINZEN GARDEN

Join Shinzen Garden's New Book Club - Seasons of Stories

Seasons of Stories is a new book club at Shinzen Garden that invites readers to gather in the natural setting of the garden to explore literature inspired by Japanese culture and explore books from Japanese American authors. We will be diving into a thoughtfully selected book each month and enjoy meaningful conversations surrounded by the beauty of the garden. All are welcome—bring your curiosity and love for stories!

before the coffee gets cold by toshikazu kawaguchi

Order the Book Here

August 2025 Book Selection

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

By Toshikazu Kawaguchi

If you could go back in time, who would you want to meet?

In a small back alley of Tokyo, there is a café that has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. Local legend says that this shop offers something else besides coffee–the chance to travel back in time.

Over the course of one summer, four customers visit the café in the hopes of making that journey. But time travel isn’t so simple, and there are rules that must be followed. Most important, the trip can last only as long as it takes for the coffee to get cold.

Heartwarming, wistful, mysterious and delightfully quirky, Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s internationally bestselling novel explores the age-old question: What would you change if you could travel back in time?

Join Seasons of Stories Book Club Here

Seasons of Stories Book Club

Monthly Discussion Questions

Each month, the Seasons of Stories Book Club explores thought-provoking titles by Japanese American authors and stories inspired by Japanese culture. Our guided discussion questions are designed to spark meaningful conversation, encourage deeper reflection, and connect readers through shared insights.

As you read each month’s selection for the Seasons of Stories Book Club, keep these thoughtfully crafted questions in mind to deepen your understanding and enrich your experience. During our monthly book club meeting, we’ll use these questions to guide our group discussion and explore different perspectives together. Let them be your companion as you read and prepare to share your insights.

Whether you’re joining us in the garden or reading from afar, these questions help enrich your experience and foster community around the power of storytelling.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold – Book Club Questions

If you had to follow the book’s rules, would you time travel? And where or when would you go?
If you didn’t have to follow the book’s rules, would that change your answer?
Café, characters, or coffee — where do you think the magic came from? Or did the magic come from something else?
Which of the time travel rules was the most frustrating? And did you think of any loopholes to get around it?
Are you a fan of time travel in novels? Did you enjoy the way the novel handled it as magical realism rather than rooted through science? Did you wish to know more about it?
Before the Coffee Gets Cold is an international bestseller, what do you think makes the story so appealing to people from all over the world?

Download the Questions