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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
The audiobook read by Ms Parton herself? Yes please. She's an incredible songteller, I enjoyed it from the first word to the last ❤️.
hopeful
slow-paced
First off before y’all come for me, I love Dolly. And this was entertaining.
I listened on audiobook, which I think is the only way to read this as it’s formatted like a very loose interview where she rapid fire talks about her songs and her career.
Would have preferred for her to sit down a write about less songs but put more time into the explaining the craft, her stories and her life.
I listened on audiobook, which I think is the only way to read this as it’s formatted like a very loose interview where she rapid fire talks about her songs and her career.
Would have preferred for her to sit down a write about less songs but put more time into the explaining the craft, her stories and her life.
This was kind of like Behind the Music, but in print. The incomparable Dolly Parton talks conversationally about her favorite songs, accompanied by music snippets. She’s so funny and thoughtful. Hearing the description of how her Imagination Library came to fruition made me cry. Such a thoughtful, humble soul. We don’t deserve her.
I love you Dolly, but I just couldn't rate this any higher.
First things first, the audio vs. print version of this are vastly different. This review refers solely to the audiobook edition. My biggest issue is that this really isn't a book. It's a 5-hour interview where a snippet of a Dolly song plays and then Dolly talks about it's meaning. As someone who isn't familiar with Dolly's vast catalogue, this gets extremely repetitive after the first 2 hours. In addition, it would have been better if Dolly talked about the song first and then it played, as it would have been more impactful and easier to follow.
Side note: maybe I missed this, but Here You Come Again was missing. Since this is one of her most popular songs, I was surprised that it was excluded.
Overall, if you're someone who loves Dolly's music, you will love this. However, if you're hoping for a deeper insight into Dolly's background, there are other Dolly books that are probably more appropriate.
First things first, the audio vs. print version of this are vastly different. This review refers solely to the audiobook edition. My biggest issue is that this really isn't a book. It's a 5-hour interview where a snippet of a Dolly song plays and then Dolly talks about it's meaning. As someone who isn't familiar with Dolly's vast catalogue, this gets extremely repetitive after the first 2 hours. In addition, it would have been better if Dolly talked about the song first and then it played, as it would have been more impactful and easier to follow.
Side note: maybe I missed this, but Here You Come Again was missing. Since this is one of her most popular songs, I was surprised that it was excluded.
Overall, if you're someone who loves Dolly's music, you will love this. However, if you're hoping for a deeper insight into Dolly's background, there are other Dolly books that are probably more appropriate.
This was a difficult format to read as an ebook
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In the past year, there have been a couple of books released about Dolly Parton and her impact as a songwriter. I reviewed Unlikely Angel: The Songs of Dolly Parton by Lydia R. Hamessley and She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs by Sarah Smarsh, but now, it’s time to get it straight from the source. Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics is Dolly’s turn to set the record straight.
I listened to the audiobook and also checked Songteller: My Life in Lyrics out of the library. It’s an oversized book with tons of never-before seen private pictures of Dolly, her rough drafts of songs, and more. Both versions are worthy of adding to your collection if you’re a fan of Dolly’s. The audiobook contains some narration and then Dolly tells the inspiration behind 150 of her songs, with snippets of the actual song played as introductions. The book contains an introduction to a chapter, the lyrics to the song, then Dolly’s thoughts. It’s clear from the audiobook that Dolly is not narrating her book. She’s answering questions, which became the basis of the book, which was then put into prose.
One thing I do have to say, while I really enjoyed all of Dolly’s stories, she seems to always say “This is one of my favorite songs that I wrote.” And she says it over and over again. I get it, she’s written thousands of songs, and the ones picked for the book are the cream of the crop, but that little idiosyncrasy got a little old after listening for a couple of hours. But I can’t begrudge Parton too much, because the songs culled for the book are all great. I haven’t listened to much of Dolly’s early career, but I’m well-versed on her hits in the 1980’s and early 1990’s, when I grew up listening to her music. So learning about her early songs was a huge plus for me.
One of the things Dolly talks about at length is her Imagination Library, which has put books into the hands of millions of underprivileged kids (almost 156,000,000 as of March 2021). She says that is one of the things she’s most proud of, along with the volume of her song output, as her lasting legacy. She started the foundation as a tribute to her father, who was the smartest man she knew, but he couldn’t read.
I highly recommend this book in both formats for any true fan of country music. The audiobook was a joy to listen to, and the print book is definitely coffee table worthy. At a time when I’ve been purging books instead of buying them, this is the rare exception that I’ve happily added to my musical artist collection.
In the past year, there have been a couple of books released about Dolly Parton and her impact as a songwriter. I reviewed Unlikely Angel: The Songs of Dolly Parton by Lydia R. Hamessley and She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs by Sarah Smarsh, but now, it’s time to get it straight from the source. Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics is Dolly’s turn to set the record straight.
I listened to the audiobook and also checked Songteller: My Life in Lyrics out of the library. It’s an oversized book with tons of never-before seen private pictures of Dolly, her rough drafts of songs, and more. Both versions are worthy of adding to your collection if you’re a fan of Dolly’s. The audiobook contains some narration and then Dolly tells the inspiration behind 150 of her songs, with snippets of the actual song played as introductions. The book contains an introduction to a chapter, the lyrics to the song, then Dolly’s thoughts. It’s clear from the audiobook that Dolly is not narrating her book. She’s answering questions, which became the basis of the book, which was then put into prose.
One thing I do have to say, while I really enjoyed all of Dolly’s stories, she seems to always say “This is one of my favorite songs that I wrote.” And she says it over and over again. I get it, she’s written thousands of songs, and the ones picked for the book are the cream of the crop, but that little idiosyncrasy got a little old after listening for a couple of hours. But I can’t begrudge Parton too much, because the songs culled for the book are all great. I haven’t listened to much of Dolly’s early career, but I’m well-versed on her hits in the 1980’s and early 1990’s, when I grew up listening to her music. So learning about her early songs was a huge plus for me.
One of the things Dolly talks about at length is her Imagination Library, which has put books into the hands of millions of underprivileged kids (almost 156,000,000 as of March 2021). She says that is one of the things she’s most proud of, along with the volume of her song output, as her lasting legacy. She started the foundation as a tribute to her father, who was the smartest man she knew, but he couldn’t read.
I highly recommend this book in both formats for any true fan of country music. The audiobook was a joy to listen to, and the print book is definitely coffee table worthy. At a time when I’ve been purging books instead of buying them, this is the rare exception that I’ve happily added to my musical artist collection.
i listened to the audiobook and it was more interview style than i suspect the print book is. i first met dolly as aunt dolly from hannah montana so hearing her talk about her songwriting career was interesting.
i didn’t really feel like there was a timeline to how the book progresses. we start with her childhood but then we weave and wander through time with her songs. i wish i would have heard more about her movie producing side but the book is called song teller so we’re focused on the music. i enjoyed hearing the snippets of music which is why i recommend it if you’re gonna read this book get the audiobook.
she’s a great storyteller and song writer. a fun dive into the massive discography. every song is her most favorite song that she wrote and you know what, hell yeah.
i didn’t really feel like there was a timeline to how the book progresses. we start with her childhood but then we weave and wander through time with her songs. i wish i would have heard more about her movie producing side but the book is called song teller so we’re focused on the music. i enjoyed hearing the snippets of music which is why i recommend it if you’re gonna read this book get the audiobook.
she’s a great storyteller and song writer. a fun dive into the massive discography. every song is her most favorite song that she wrote and you know what, hell yeah.
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced