#songteller

Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics (Hardcover) A landmark celebration of the remarkable life and career of a country music and pop culture legend

ON SALE NOW: https://amzn.to/3RJlpeJ

My Book Review

This book is 🤔...Fantastic! 

Songteller is Dolly Parton's intimate, heavy ass coffee table memoir filled with personal stories, her accolades, her memorabilia, never-before-seen photos, captions, and an exploration of her life as a child growing up in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee with 12 siblings to her unstoppable strides today through backstories of the lyrics for 175 of her songs—well-known hits and some never-before-heard tunes. Her infectious personality is permeated throughout. This format of tying in the breakdown of one's songs should be the standard for all singer-songwriters who write memoirs going forward. It's up close and personal and makes the music that much more meaningful. (Mariah Carey seamlessly did this in her riveting memoir, The Meaning of Mariah.) A songteller—telling stories through lyrics—is the perfect word to describe Dolly. Always inspired by the people and things around her, and situations and events, she even creates character studies for those she never knew. "I used to love to go to graveyard a lot. I'd read somebody's name on their stone or see the grave of the little kid and wonder what their story was. I'd create lives for those people in the graveyard, just invent stories in my head for them." I recommend reading the book and listening to the audiobook. The audiobook is filled with Dolly answering questions, explaining her creative process and and other behind-the-scenes info in a live interview. (Keep in mind, you don't hear the interviewer; you only hear Dolly answering the questions.) Her writings in the book are the transcripts from the interview. Also, there are songs that Dolly explores on the audiobook that aren't featured in the book, and vice versa.

SN: Dolly can easily make an encyclopedia-style set with all of her songs. She’s written over a thousand.

So I started this AGES ago and worked on it in spurts for the past few months. So I feel like the art isn't as cohesive as it could be, but eh *shrugs* you win some you lose some. This idea was so funny in my head, I had to find SOME way to share it.

Anyway, I just can't get enough of Kylan and Naia's dynamic - ultimate BFF goals. But I feel a real BFF only supports you AFTER giving you a little crap. Heheh

7 Covers in 7 Days

Rules: Each day, I will post the cover of a book that I love and nominate someone new to start the challenge.

I really just wanted the harp. .... If I could figure out how to cover the hat I would. The archer’s hat comes really close but not quite close enough.

        skekSa’s anger over her indignities makes her trek back to the coast sloppy and prone to error, which is something she can’t afford. not only are the Drenchen aware of her escape now that that thrice-damned tree is torn apart, but the plains are also crawling with Gelfling, all of them attempting to resupply and strategize after a chance victory at Stone-in-the-Wood. 

the Mariner tenses upon seeing the Spriton song-teller, remaining dominant hand hovering over her cutlass. they stare at each other for a few moments, red and brown eyes scanning the other for any sign of danger or further betrayal, before the Mariner snorts. she remembers this one. quite the player on the firca. reasonable, too. at least, until those unfortunate happenstances aboard Vassa. 

does she regret attempting to curry the Emperor’s favor? a part of her does, at least. she should have known that it would be hopeless, and she should have known not to trust skekZok, the sanctimonious bastard. but alas, fear can make one do a plethora of foolish things.