Dream More

December 3, 2012
Part memoir, part self-help, Parton's book shares her life philosophies and the guiding principles behind her Dollywood Foundation, which provides free books to children through the Imagination Library program. Her drive and propensity for "dreaming big" took her from a life of poverty in a small Tennessee mountain town, where she practiced singing to the chickens, to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry and beyond. Parton's style is folksy and winsomely charming. Discussing how to handle the down times in life, she writes, "People always say, 'But you always look so happy.' Well, that's Bo-tox! Nobody's happy all the time." Parton (Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business) remembers struggling through classes in a one-room schoolhouse as a child, only to later return to her hometown as a successful performer and provide students with scholarships. Parton goes on to outline the practices that made her a successful businesswoman, notably taking commitment seriously and choosing the right people to commit to, and share her earnest sense of faith. Fans will particularly enjoy "The Wit & Wisdom of the Dolly-Mama," which contains Dolly-isms like "I'm just the girl next door, provided you live next door to an amusement park," and "Home is where I hang my hair."

October 15, 2012
Country music's spunky doyenne presents an inspirational, feel-good stocking stuffer. Parton channels her years of down-home sensibilities and showbiz wisdom to fans needing a life-affirming pep talk, expanding on material delivered during a commencement speech highlighting what she considers to be the eternal rewards of dreaming, learning and caring. She fondly, if fleetingly, reminisces on being raised with 11 other siblings in a "shack at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains" and touches on her school days distracted by boys, being spoon-fed Bible chapters and rebelliously applying makeup even after being warned that it was "sinful." Parton gets personal when writing of her 46-year marriage to Carl Dean and discusses what were initially considered as ill-conceived decisions to leave The Porter Wagoner Show to branch out into pop music then conceptualize the Dollywood theme park (she admits to knowing little about its daily operations). At the heart of Parton's brief book are positive empowerment and a refreshing work ethic that support her travel-heavy livelihood singing, acting and fulfilling philanthropic endeavors like the Dollywood Foundation and the Imagination Library, which delivers free books to children. The author credits her boundless energy level to a minimalistic need for sleep (though she takes power naps) and true happiness surrounded by friends, family and a blessed life. Parton's kooky, boobcentric sense of humor gels nicely with pages of song lyrics, anecdotes and countrified witticisms ("I look so totally artificial, but am so totally real"). A pocket-sized pick-me-up for fans and dreamers.

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