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: Dogsong
Author: Gary Paulsen
Published: 1985
Length: 162 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

“In the Old Days There Were Songs”

Something is bothering Russel Susskit. He hates waking up to the sound of his father’s coughing, the smell of diesel oil, the noise of snow machines starting up.

Only Oogruk, the shaman who owns the last team of dogs in the village, understands Russel’s longing for the old ways and the songs that celebrated them. But Oogruk cannot give Russel the answers he seeks; the old man can only prepare him for what he must do alone. Driven by a strange, powerful dream of a long-ago self and by a burning desire to find his own song, Russel takes Oogruk’s dogs on an epic journey of self-discovery that will change his life forever. 

How and when I got it:

My daughter bought a copy for my son about 5 or 6 years ago. (He never ended up reading it, but I still want to!)

Why I want to read it:

My first experience with Gary Paulsen was only about a year ago, when I read Hatchet as part of a challenge to read books from PBS’s The Great American Read list. I really enjoyed Hatchet — after all, I’m always a sucker for a good survival story!

Dogsong sounds like another good choice for me. I mean, right off the bat, it’s set in Alaska, which is always a plus. I enjoy coming of age stories, and I like the sound of the boy in the story setting out to learn more about himself and about his elders.

What do you think? Would you read this book? 

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 or link back from your own post, so I can add you to the participant list.
• Check out other posts, and…

Have fun!