The audio books

You guys think they could re-do the books with Jim Dale as the narrator and the other voices done by the original movie cast or at least sound-a-likes?

It's a great idea, but I doubt that they'd do it since it would be rather costly to hire all the actors.

What's wrong with their voices? :huh: I don't find anything wrong in the ways in which he portrays any of the characters. I got HBP in the mail a few days ago, and I haven't been able to get past Chapter five. I keep getting distracted and not paying attention to it. :err:

I have the Dale versions of all seven books, and I confess I feel the same way about a few of the voices he does. Overall, he's a great reader with a very charismatic voice, and it's definitely a good listen, but there are times during the series when some of the verbal affectations he gives a few characters get on my nerves.

I'm interested in hearing the Fry versions too, I'm curious to hear his interpretation of the characters as well. I haven't really sought them out yet, as I assumed they'd be hard to find in the US.

You guys think they could re-do the books with Jim Dale as the narrator and the other voices done by the original movie cast or at least sound-a-likes?

Prohibitively expensive to produce, I imagine, but I'd buy it. :)

Well Fry does a better dramatic reading, but Dale does more voices. I'd love Dale's version better if his Hermione wasn't so annoying.

The Fry ones used to be available in Canada, but now only the Jim Dale ones are available. I think it probably has to with licensing, perhaps limited to the North American Continent. The licensing for the books is separate so the Canadian Raincoast books are the British version. I've taken advantage of that to acquire them so I can see the differences between the two versions.

You can actually order the British audiobooks via the UK Amazon website. You'll pay more shipping, but it is worth it if you want them bad enough. I've done that for several audiobooks that are unavailable in the US. Other British sellers of audiobooks will also ship to the US. ISIS doesn't even charge extra shipping costs.

Thanks! :tu:

Here in Denmark the audiobooks are read by Jesper Christensen (you know, from James Bond... and a lot of other Danish movie) :D

Well Fry does a better dramatic reading, but Dale does more voices. I'd love Dale's version better if his Hermione wasn't so annoying.

Heh, that's the one that gets me too.

"Harrrryyyyyyyyy!"

There are a couple others that I'm not a huge fan of, but they're mostly bit players, and not that bad.. it's his Hermione that's the only one that I have to sometimes tune out mentally.

I have all the audio books on my Ipod.

I drove 800 miles, wide awake listening to Jim Dale many voices.
My favorite is HBP!!!

I also painted a room while listening to the Half Blood Prince. It was more enjoyable and the job did not seem as tough (I really don't like to paint). I concentrated on the story and not in the amount of work that it required to finish the room. Before, I knew it I was done.

Aparently Jim Dale said that the Hagrid voice is hardest for him to do and he hates doing it cause it hurts his throat

Aparently Jim Dale said that the Hagrid voice is hardest for him to do and he hates doing it cause it hurts his throat

I feel the same way when I'm reading the books for my little sister(: But I don't hate doing it...(:

I love Dale's versions!! Although I must confess that Hermiones voice is awful annoying!! :lol:

''Harrreeeeeee''

''Librareeeeeee''

''Strawberreeeee''

(Ok I added in the 'Strawberry' one, but you get what i mean :lol:)

''Harrreeeeeee''

SO TRUE!!

I must confess that I really dislike Jim Dale's narration. All of his voices sound the same to me, and he seems to get carried away with the accents. I listened to most of Deathly Hallows, and enjoyed it, but I couldn't listen to any one part more than once lest the lines get stuck in my head sounding like that. I suspect that I might like his reading a little better in one of the other books, because my biggest problem with his reading was simply that everything he said was too upbeat, and Deathly Hallows is anything but upbeat. It seemed like he thought he couldn't say anything unless it was impassioned and excited. Especially King's Cross, which to me ought to be a very quiet, solemn chapter. The one part I really liked in his reading was The Prince's Tale, which I thought he did quite well. But Hermione's and Voldemort's (It's supposed to be high and clear -- he got the high part just fine, but not the clear. I do like its snakiness, though) and Luna's voices, in particular, annoy me a great deal.

Aparently Jim Dale said that the Hagrid voice is hardest for him to do and he hates doing it cause it hurts his throat

Really? That's a shame because I thought it was one of his better voices, on the whole.

It's actually harder to make out who's speaking in the Stephen Fry audiobooks, since all the kids and most of the women sound the same. But Fry does a better dramatic reading, and his tone usually does better match the mood of the text.

Well now I've just decided to go out and buy the audio books! Your descriptions of some of my favorite characters (Umbridge, Tonks, and Voldemort) are good enough for me! That's an interesting idea, reading and listening to the audio at the same time. I think I'll try that.

I have already posted how much I love the audio books. Jim Dale does a great job of reading them. Very dramatic reading, and I love all the voices. A lot of people seem to dislike his Hermione, but I for one love his Hermione voice as well. Certain scenes I especially like, the graveyard scene in book 4 and Dumbledore's explanation in book 5. My tapes are wearing out, I may have to buy them again. Maybe I will get cd's next time!

I'm in New Zealand so we get the British ones with Stephen Fry...I absolutely LOVE him doing them...to me he always narrates the right mood to be in at that point. And yes i do agree slightly with the whole voice thing...sometimes it is a bit hard to distinguish...but most of the time i think he great!

I guess he must be to get all those Talkie awards

I've just started listening to the audios for the first time - the Stephen Fry ones - and I'm loving every minute of it. His voices are good, but as JKR said in the interview with him, they don't form a barrier to the story - he isn't showing off how many voices he can do, and that's a good thing.

I've also found, when I've re-read the books recently, I've sometimes found it hard to get the actors out of my head, especially when reading dialogue which is directly used in the movies. I really don't like that, because I've always preferred my own vision of the characters. But with the audiobooks that problem is gone, because there's a different voice being used. It's a relief to be listening to these stories without my memories of the films interfering!

I LOVE the audio books! I've never actually read most of the books, only SS an OotP, but I'm currently listening to them for the 7th time. I love how Dale reads, but it took some getting used to the accent, as I'm not British. I put them on to my Ipod, which I would recommend to anybody who doesn't want to spend lots of money on the CD's.

I just got to thinking... Why dont they make audio books at a duet, Jim dale and another female to at least a quartet, Jim Dale and three others.

Also fun thing about audio books, is you can rest your eyes or do something else like, Cook, clean the house drive a long distance... And still get your potter fix for the day!

When he reads sometimes I can imagine the actors from the film intruding in my head which is something I find sometimes distracting as my mind wonders off... But I really welcome it... Its like a complete movie in my head!

I've just started listening to the audios for the first time - the Stephen Fry ones - and I'm loving every minute of it. His voices are good, but as JKR said in the interview with him, they don't form a barrier to the story - he isn't showing off how many voices he can do, and that's a good thing.

I've also found, when I've re-read the books recently, I've sometimes found it hard to get the actors out of my head, especially when reading dialogue which is directly used in the movies. I really don't like that, because I've always preferred my own vision of the characters. But with the audiobooks that problem is gone, because there's a different voice being used. It's a relief to be listening to these stories without my memories of the films interfering!

I've got the British audiobooks with Stephen Fry narrating it and I absolutely love the man!!! :clap: He is truly a natural treasure :love: and his voice is so amazing that I can listen to him talk about anything. I think he does a great job reading these books and am very curious to see how Jim Dale does the voices. I disagree that it can be tough to distinguish between the characters, I have no problem at all and he does some truly great voices. Hagrid, Dumbledore and Luna being a few of my favourites :p

I agree with what everyone else has already said, so many great advantages of listening to the audiobooks in that you can totally immerse yourself into the Harry Potter universe, you can multi-task and it can truly help you pass A LOT of time :lol:. The one that I very strongly agree with is what FaceofBoe (love the name mate! :p) said in that it helps a lot to hear different voices for the characters, reminds you how you had imagined the characters before the movies came along :p.

The audiobooks have many neat tricks like when they echo the voice when being said from a howler for example, or the special effect they put on for Voldemort's voice. I really like how Stephen Fry also acts out voices when it's said in the book that Hermione said it laughing, or when Winky was hiccuping. Such nice neat touches. I'm assuming it's the same with Jim Dale? I would want to check out how Jim Dale does it, but I will always listen to Stephen Fry's as I want to hear the British version of the books. :)

I didn't know this thread existed. To me, there is nothing better in the Harry Potter world than listening to Jim Dale's readings. I love it better than reading the books myself and far better than the movies. Currently, I am listening to Jim's reading of DH for third time and it's just as fresh as the first time.

I listened to Fry's version of part of one of the books and I couldn't stand it. I don't see how he could have been hired as a voice actor. That is not to say Jim's voices are perfect. Hermoine, as had been mentioned, is annoying with the long-e endings; and I do not like Luna's deep voice. Other than that, I think everything else was great, including Dumbledore sounding like Richard Harris instead of Gambon. It helped me to visualize Harris playing that role in the four proceeding movies.

I ride the train a lot so I got them to listen to on it. It makes the rides go by so fast(and sometimes I want them to last longer lol). I had SS/PS by Jim Dale. I didn't like his voices that much. Then I found out Stephen Fry made a set. It's fantastic. Listening to Stephen Fry talk is like angel food cake for the ears. He does such a great job.

I absolutely adore the audio books! I have the British versions of OotP, HBP and I recently got Deathly Hallows for my birthday, can't wait to listen to it :D

Stephen Fry is just brilliant at reading them, it's such a different experience from reading them too, I'd definitely recommend people listen to them if they get the chance :) He does the voices so brilliantly as well! His Dumbledore is just perfect, and he's surprisingly good at the female charcters :D Hopefully I'll get all of them on audio book eventually, I think it's another way to experience Harry Potter which is always a good thing :D

I'm finishing up Dale's version (about 1/3 of the way through DH right now).

He is generally very good, although there are a few things he could have done better. Occasionally, he'll read something like "XYZ, Ron grumbled", but instead of grumbling, he'll sound annoyed, or otherwise get the inflection wrong.

Still, generally very enjoyable.

Hi, not sure if this question has been answered, but are there any digital versions of the audiobooks? I've looked on the iTunes Store and Auidible, but it seems the only way to get them on my iPod is to buy the CD and put it onto my iTunes.

Does anyone know if they are available and maybe how much they cost? - I'm not too keen on the CD prices :/

Thanks

If anyone knows a legal download you are welcome to share the link. But I want to remind everyone that any illegal filesharing info can get you two warning points or worse.

Hi, not sure if this question has been answered, but are there any digital versions of the audiobooks? I've looked on the iTunes Store and Auidible, but it seems the only way to get them on my iPod is to buy the CD and put it onto my iTunes.

Does anyone know if they are available and maybe how much they cost? - I'm not too keen on the CD prices :/
I know they were available several years ago, but they must have removed them from iTunes since then.
I've never seen them anywhere else in digital format. uh...legally.

I think your best bet would be to just check them out from your local library. My library has 2 copies of each book on audioCD (one in the kids section and one in the teens :D) That's where I always get them. The library is the original, free, and legal file sharing system :lol:

If they don't have them, ask at the desk and they may be able to get them interlibrary loan from another branch. (so I'm a library nerd...shoot me)

I've only heard Fry read it, and I think he's fantastic at it :)

I have the Stephen Fry audiobooks and think they are perfect. My main complaint of the Dale versions is that he reads the American edits which i still dont think should exist.

I love the audiobooks ! Even though I can't find my copies at the moments. But I'm listening to the Deathly Hallows which I rented from the library. I just finished HBP yesterday.

Jim Dale is amazing with all the voices (:

I like listening to Jim Dale read the books. Haven't heard Stephen Fry read.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qnhabT_L0o Here is the 1st part of Fry's reading of Deathly Hallows.

I love listening to the audio books! Jim Dale is brilliant at the voices and the narrating.

I would love some of the audios of the books so i could listen to them, but they are expensive!!! So i'll guess i'll have to wait until i have the extra money to get one or two.....

Same for me. I can't believe how expensive they still are. I really would love to hear one.

I've only ever listened to the "American" versions with Jim Dale. I find him to be just incredible and one of the few voice actors I can listen to for long stretches of time. I tend to find most audiobooks to be annoying because the voice actor either doesn't seem to care or doesn't have the talent necessary to give each character a different vocal personality. While I haven't listened to Stephen Fry, I'm sure he does an incredible job as well (I love seeing him in movies). Perhaps one of these days I'll get around to getting his version of the audiobooks as well.

I've listened to all of the Jim Dale versions, and I listened to the Stephen Fry PoA. I'm not sure if this is because Jim Dale is who first introduced me to the series, but I prefer his interpretation. The audiobooks are a really great way to experience the series. Dale is so creative with all of his voices. I especially love his performance of Hermione.

I've heard they are pretty good, but I prefer to read them by myself lol.

I first heard Fry and so prefer him for that reason. I like Dale also. What I didn't like was that Fry makes Hermione sound like a hysterical fishwife. Just makes me cringe! By the way, Magnolia, I've read the series at least 6 times. Only recently started listening to the audio books. With that many readings behind me, it's definitely a fresh way to experience the series.

I first heard Fry and so prefer him for that reason. I like Dale also. What I didn't like was that Fry makes Hermione sound like a hysterical fishwife. Just makes me cringe! By the way, Magnolia, I've read the series at least 6 times. Only recently started listening to the audio books. With that many readings behind me, it's definitely a fresh way to experience the series.

I think I will eventually hear the audio books one day just to try it out :)

I think I will eventually hear the audio books one day just to try it out :)

BTW, I listen to them on youtube.

BTW, I listen to them on youtube.

Ha yeah I've seen them there just never bother to listen to them. I guess I'll try it :)

I have listened to them all read by Stephen Fry and love him!! I once listened to the Jim Dale versions and I couldn't listen to more than 5 minutes of it. I suppose its because I had already heard the Fry version that having it read by anyone else annoyed me. Both are probably good but it depends on which one you've heard first. Being British I suppose i prefer the British version and I just love Stephen Fry in general. He's a legend!!

I have listened to them all read by Stephen Fry and love him!! I once listened to the Jim Dale versions and I couldn't listen to more than 5 minutes of it. I suppose its because I had already heard the Fry version that having it read by anyone else annoyed me. Both are probably good but it depends on which one you've heard first. Being British I suppose i prefer the British version and I just love Stephen Fry in general. He's a legend!!

I'd be ok if he could just make Hermione sound more inspirational or even just average and less wimpy! When I listen, I get so mad, because it makes Hermione sound so whiny and weak.

I'd be ok if he could just make Hermione sound more inspirational or even just average and less wimpy! When I listen, I get so mad, because it makes Hermione sound so whiny and weak.

She constantly complains in the book, so that's what I think of when I hear Dale's voice for her.

I heard Fry "sing" Weasley is Our King and it was dreadful and turned me off of ever listening to his narration.

Wouldn't it be exciting if the audio books were narrated by the actual Hogwarts characters? Like, JKR reading the main information while Dan Radcliffe narrates Harry, Rupert Grint narrates Ron, etc. I personally would love to be able to hear the entire book played out as it is impractical to have it in a movie, and make it just that much more real. What are your takes?

Oh my - if that was the case I'd actually suffer a major heart attack :)
Do you think that the cast would have the time to do it though? I know Dan is always talking about how hes ready to move on and how hes super busy with Broadway.

Wouldn't it be exciting if the audio books were narrated by the actual Hogwarts characters? Like, JKR reading the main information while Dan Radcliffe narrates Harry, Rupert Grint narrates Ron, etc. I personally would love to be able to hear the entire book played out as it is impractical to have it in a movie, and make it just that much more real. What are your takes?

That would be really cool :wow:

The actors actually reading their characters' lines from the book would be great, but I doubt it would happen. I just hope they are done well.

A twenty something year old man and woman reading eleven year old lines ... peculiar and strange indeed... haha but I love it! Maybe some cast members from the video games like Peeves from the games!

I was thinking more of a radio drama.

With their busy schedules it would be difficult for them to do all 7 books...

Best option is to use children actors for Books 1 to 3
Older children from 3 to 4...

And when the story gets darker from books 5-6-7... Start using either older children or the original cast...

Radio dramas of popular movies are not unheard off. In fact i heard a recording of Star wars original trilogy as a radio drama using SOME of the original crew... And get this... It was on BBC One! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_(radio)

So i suppose if the demand is there who knows what could happen as long as JKR gives her nod... It could happen

Personally, I'm one of those who hear a song and remembers when I first heard it. If they add unknown voices to play the characters in the books, it will always be their voices I'll hear when I read the books on my own afterwards. I don't think I could handle hearing someone say the lines from Snape's death scene and then re-read the precise thing that someone basically said, the voices may even be really out of character in some cases.

They might even try and find people who sound a bit like the ones in the movies, like the Harry Potter video games for instance. It really sounds so wrong there because there's a hint of the actual actors voice in there. I'd say, either Rowling's voice or the actors, maybe. But some of you say that it's more emotional than reading by yourself, so I might give it a try sometime.

A couple years ago a friend of mine let me listen to some of his harry potter audio books. Just recently I purchased my own copy of the books and audio books. My versions in many places greatly differ from his..

for example, Ginny eventually travels with harry, ron, hermione while searching for horcruxes.

another example is after dumbledore dies draco and his mother stays 12 grimmauld place for protection..

It is my understanding that the american and english versions do vary slightly.

So i'm guessing what i listened to was some sort of fan fiction or an earlier work?


If anyone could help, please do so.


Thanks
Jamie

A couple years ago a friend of mine let me listen to some of his harry potter audio books. Just recently I purchased my own copy of the books and audio books. My versions in many places greatly differ from his..

for example, Ginny eventually travels with harry, ron, hermione while searching for horcruxes.

another example is after dumbledore dies draco and his mother stays 12 grimmauld place for protection..

It is my understanding that the american and english versions do vary slightly.

So i'm guessing what i listened to was some sort of fan fiction or an earlier work?


If anyone could help, please do so.


Thanks
Jamie

What. Definitely fan fiction.

I've never had the chance to listen to the audio books, however, I might get them when I get back home in a few months because I haven't re-read the books yet.

I would love some of the audios of the books so i could listen to them, but they are expensive!!! So i'll guess i'll have to wait until i have the extra money to get one or two.....

I've gotten some of my audiobooks at stores that sell used books. You can get them much cheaper then.

I'm planning on listening to them when Pottermore comes out in October. It's going to be a different experience for me since I always reading to myself but excited to try something different.

A couple years ago a friend of mine let me listen to some of his harry potter audio books. Just recently I purchased my own copy of the books and audio books. My versions in many places greatly differ from his..

for example, Ginny eventually travels with harry, ron, hermione while searching for horcruxes.

another example is after dumbledore dies draco and his mother stays 12 grimmauld place for protection..

It is my understanding that the american and english versions do vary slightly.

So i'm guessing what i listened to was some sort of fan fiction or an earlier work?


If anyone could help, please do so.


Thanks
Jamie

This sounds a lot like a fanfic that I've read.

The official UK audio books are read by Stephen Fry; American by Jim Dale.

I hope you didn't pay too much.

After seeing DH2 (once was enough), I was reminded I how much I loved the audio book and the regular book much better than the movie. The early movies (esp. the first one) was pretty close between the audio books and the movies but since then, I almost don't recognize what they showed in the movies, esp. the last one. I'm comparing my visualization of the narration to what was visualized in the movie.

I heard a Stephen Fry vs Dale Harry Potter audio book narrating and I definitely go with Dale, his Harry Potter voice and his Voldemort voice are outstanding and breathtaking, I just find that Fry doesn't put any emotion or meaning into what he reads.

...I just find that Fry doesn't put any emotion or meaning into what he reads.

I actually listened to CoS read by Dale first (which was at the local library) and then Fry doing SS. For my part, I'm with Fry. I agree that his reading is much more subdued and less animated--Dale is clearly the master voice actor here. But I find Fry to be my preferred reader of the books. Less emotional? Yes, but I would not say that he puts less meaning, as I know it, into his reading. I think Fry had a pretty good handle on the story as a whole and was attentive to a lot of subtleties. In fact, my complaints from Dale's CoS were that, a handful of time that I noticed, he didn't seem to be paying much attention to the text. He reads to us that the creature, who we soon find to be Dobby, has a high squeaky voice only to start voicing Dobby as a mildly gravely old chimney sweep (not a bad voice mind you). I also recall things like "'HARRY POTTER'" being shouted right before "Snape said coldly."

I do like Dale's animated performance, and I'm sure I would like a good dramatized, multi-actor reading. Still, I find Fry a better reader of the books largely because is more like my reading experience and his more straightforward or subdued approach give my imagination a bit more wiggle room.


Disclosure:

1. I am an American who takes great pleasure in variation in dialects of the English language, so I prefer the original British version of the text and would just as soon not have it translated into Americanese (and don't get me started on the change to "Sorcerer's Stone"). Since even the American audio books are read by British men, something rings a tiny bit false when I hear this talk of "elevators" and "desserts" instead of "lifts" and "puddings". So I've got a potential bias for the UK version from the start.

2. I do and have for some time loved Stephen Fry for how wonderful he is inside and outside of his previous work. So it stands that I might show favoritism to him. Like I said, I prefer the notion of having a book read to me rather than hearing and audio performance, per se. So part of it might be that Stephen feels a bit more like his an old friend (or a long lost English uncle) reading to me.

I bought all seven books and seen all seven movies.I started reading the books,got up to the fourth one then got sidetracked by all my school work so I was going to start over from one.My question is are the audiobooks good?and are you supposed to follow along or just listen?And what do audiobooks do for you that you couldn't do yourself?Better connection?More imagination?Better capture of the feelings?

We've got the last 4 books as audiobooks - there was a time when my daughter was too ill to read and she relied on the CDs. I've listenedto all 4 and I think Fry does an awesome job! His accent for Tonks is hilarious ( for any 40+ Brits reading this he makes her sound like Les Dawson doing 'Cissie' ) and Aunt Muriel at the wedding is very funny. I have heard a bit of the CoS one done in French and the narrator seems permanently very excited....

I love the audiobooks - but they are very expensive...

I've been listening to the audiobooks while I've been in work, and also walking home from work. (Fry's version). They never fail to make me smile. Honestly, Fry's reading of Quidditch is amazing- I've been walking down a country lane, hi-vis jacket on, torch in hand, giggling away at how amazing he makes Quidditch sound! One thing I did notice though, he says that, in PoA, Adelbert Waffling wrote A History of Magic, but both of my copies of the book state Bathilda Bagshot. I know this isn't Fry's fault, he's reading what he's been given, but when you're reading along with the audiobooks, and it's different, it jars slightly...
All in all though, of the audiobooks I have (1 to 6), they are the best audiobooks I've ever heard, and I've heard a few :)

I bought all seven books and seen all seven movies.I started reading the books,got up to the fourth one then got sidetracked by all my school work so I was going to start over from one.My question is are the audiobooks good?and are you supposed to follow along or just listen?And what do audiobooks do for you that you couldn't do yourself?Better connection?More imagination?Better capture of the feelings?

Audiobooks are just someone reading the books aloud to you, differentiating characters with different voices so you don't get confused.

If you've never listen to an audiobook before and are looking at getting the HP books in audiobook try EXTREMELY HARD to find Stephen Fry's reading (the british versions) and NOT JIM DALE (the america versions). The major difference, at least for me, is that at times Jim Dale makes the characters sound whiny, especially Hermione and Ginny, and does girls' voices often lower than the boys voices. maybe he's trying to make them husky and sexy but it's just terrible. Stephen Fry's readings are not as... dynamic a reading as Jim Dale's readings but I think he does better, more believable accents and none of his character voices really grates on my nerves like Jim Dale's versions of the girls do.

There really isn't anything that the books do for you more than just reading them youself other that instill a certain 'voice' for each of the characters by the accents the speaker (fry or dale) gives them, and freeing you up to do other things than constantly have your nose stuck in a book. Personally, I prefer to read the book myself to build of idea of the character in my own head and get a feel for the building of drama and the like, then listen to the audiobook which, in my mind, is more of a suplement because of the voices/accents and the different phrasing the speaker uses which can greatly impact how a line is carried off, specifically Molly's line in DH (it's in the movie right?) when she's battling bellatrix: Dale reads it as something like "Not my daughter! You b****!" so it comes off like two lines with a break between daughter and you. Fry reads it more like "Not my daughter, you b****!" like an accusation of bellatrix trying to attack ginny, read all as one sentance with no breaks, pauses or anything to lead to believe that the whole line wasn't said in one breath. I prefer fry's reading of the books because he tallies more closely with how I, myself, read the phrasing and inflections of JKR's words on the page. Plus fry's got a really pleasing voice to listen to. =^) Plus I just really like him. ("Who-de-who-de-who-de-who... sir..." tehe!!)

I would recommend seeing if your local library has the books on audiobook, and if you have a choice between dale or fry than get them both and decide for yourself which speaker you prefer. I know my county library checks audiobooks out to you online and you can download them straight to your iPod which is really handy.

And what do audiobooks do for you that you couldn't do yourself?

It's easier to drive.

It's easier to drive.
I don't drive, but it's also easier to walk and listen...

That's very true - I listened to the last 4 books this summer whilst out walking. I got some strange looks from people as I walked with tears streaming down my face!

I was like that last night, when walking home from work. I was listening to PoA and I heard the bit where they think Buckbeak has been killed. I never cried when reading that, but listening to it, I kinda sobbed a little. Luckily it was dark and I was alone ;)

I think you make a good point there - there were bits in the books that didn't make me cry when i read them but lead to me sobbing when I heard them read to me!

Audiobooks are just someone reading the books aloud to you, differentiating characters with different voices so you don't get confused.

If you've never listen to an audiobook before and are looking at getting the HP books in audiobook try EXTREMELY HARD to find Stephen Fry's reading (the british versions) and NOT JIM DALE (the america versions). The major difference, at least for me, is that at times Jim Dale makes the characters sound whiny, especially Hermione and Ginny, and does girls' voices often lower than the boys voices. maybe he's trying to make them husky and sexy but it's just terrible. Stephen Fry's readings are not as... dynamic a reading as Jim Dale's readings but I think he does better, more believable accents and none of his character voices really grates on my nerves like Jim Dale's versions of the girls do.

There really isn't anything that the books do for you more than just reading them youself other that instill a certain 'voice' for each of the characters by the accents the speaker (fry or dale) gives them, and freeing you up to do other things than constantly have your nose stuck in a book. Personally, I prefer to read the book myself to build of idea of the character in my own head and get a feel for the building of drama and the like, then listen to the audiobook which, in my mind, is more of a suplement because of the voices/accents and the different phrasing the speaker uses which can greatly impact how a line is carried off, specifically Molly's line in DH (it's in the movie right?) when she's battling bellatrix: Dale reads it as something like "Not my daughter! You b****!" so it comes off like two lines with a break between daughter and you. Fry reads it more like "Not my daughter, you b****!" like an accusation of bellatrix trying to attack ginny, read all as one sentance with no breaks, pauses or anything to lead to believe that the whole line wasn't said in one breath. I prefer fry's reading of the books because he tallies more closely with how I, myself, read the phrasing and inflections of JKR's words on the page. Plus fry's got a really pleasing voice to listen to. =^) Plus I just really like him. ("Who-de-who-de-who-de-who... sir..." tehe!!)

I would recommend seeing if your local library has the books on audiobook, and if you have a choice between dale or fry than get them both and decide for yourself which speaker you prefer. I know my county library checks audiobooks out to you online and you can download them straight to your iPod which is really handy.


I think I liked Fry's better than Dale's but the one thing I hated about Fry was that I felt he made Hermione sound shrill and slightly hysterical.

I think I liked Fry's better than Dale's but the one thing I hated about Fry was that I felt he made Hermione sound shrill and slightly hysterical.

I'd take a shrill and hysterical-sounding Hermione over Dale's man-voices for the girls in all of his versions and the way he reads Hermione saying harry's name "Har-eeeeeeee" ACK!

Fry's version of Tonks is hilarious..... Forum members who are British and of a certain age may remeber Les Dawson's characters Cissie and Ada - Fry's accent for Tonks is so like these sketches...

I love his Tonks too...
Oh, I noticed, when listening to CoS the other day, Fry, when reading the bit about Valentine's day, where Lockhart says "my colleagues", said "m'colleagues"...exactly the same way as he says it in the fourth series of "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" to Hugh Laurie.

"M'colleague"


Hehe I laughed so much, and had to rewind it to hear it again...three times :D

On the Fry vs. Dale issue, I've always had an affinity for Jim Dale's versions. Maybe just 'cause I found them first (his Goblet of Fire was the first HP audiobook I listened to), or maybe just 'cause I'm in awe of how many voices the guy can do. A lot of them become the default voices for the characters in my mind. Every time I read the books, it's his voices for Dumbledore, Dobby, Malfoy, Tonks, and at least a dozen others that I hear in my head. (Though I won't deny, some of his voices are a little odd. His take on Luna Lovegood is kinda weird, and I don't know why he decided that Bellatrix Lestrange is French.)

I did listen to Fry's versions of Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets, and I really enjoyed them too. His voice for Gilderoy Lockhart was hilarious. I'd like to seek out the rest of his versions, but I'm in America and it seems they're hard to come by 'round here.

I've been working by myself for the past few weeks (as my partner is gone) so I've gotten plenty of time to listen to the audiobooks. They make the time go by so much quicker. Im starting PoA right now. Stephen Fry's edition of course.