Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics

Dolly Parton seems like the nicest, kindest person around. I just want to make sure that's known up front.

This book didn't especially impress me. It reads like a Wikipedia entry, a very nice Wiki entry. The stories and descriptions about her life - with one notable exception - are totally surface level. Her descriptions of people and her interactions with them - with one notable exception - are all compliments and platitudes. She hints at deeper levels, mentions health problems and psychological stress and general “tough times”, but never tells us about them. This feels like a missed opportunity because, as RuPaul always says, it is your willingness to be honest and vulnerable that makes people fall in love with you.

Actually, this lack of depth and vulnerability makes me wonder who she considers the target audience for this book. Her fans will already know these stories, and people who aren't fans won't want to read through the hundreds of pages of song lyrics (least fun way to enjoy a song) only to get a Wiki-level knowledge of her as a person.

I can't bear to give less than 3 stars because she's so kindhearted.