Welcome to Shelf Control — an original feature created and hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies.

Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up! For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out my introductory post, here.

Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday. See the guidelines at the bottom of the post, and jump on board!

Title: The Coldest Winter Ever
Author: Sister Souljah
Published: 1999
Length: 351 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

Renowned hip-hop artist, writer, and activist Sister Souljah brings the streets of New York to life in a powerful and utterly unforgettable first novel.

I came busting into the world during one of New York’s worst snowstorms, so my mother named me Winter.

Ghetto-born, Winter is the young, wealthy daughter of a prominent Brooklyn drug-dealing family. Quick-witted, sexy, and business-minded, she knows and loves the streets like the curves of her own body. But when a cold Winter wind blows her life in a direction she doesn’t want to go, her street smarts and seductive skills are put to the test of a lifetime. Unwilling to lose, this ghetto girl will do anything to stay on top.

The Coldest Winter Ever marks the debut of a gifted storyteller. You will never forget this Winter’s tale.

How and when I got it:

I bought this book at the beginning of 2019.

Why I want to read it:

After the PBS Great American Read list came out, my book group created a DIY challenge, where we all picked five books that we hadn’t read yet (from the list of 100), and made a commitment to read them by the end of the year. As I was looking for books I hadn’t read, The Coldest Winter Ever caught my eye. To be honest, I’d never even heard of it, and it doesn’t sound much like my typical reading material — but isn’t that the point of reading challenges, to get out of our comfort zones?

I’ve only read 3 of my 5 challenge books so far, but hey, I still have (not quite) three months to go!

What do you think? Have you read this book? Would you read it?

Please share your thoughts!

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Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:

• Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
• Add your link in the comments!
• If you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate a link back from your own post.
• Check out other posts, and…

Have fun!