Comments on: Accio Harry Potter Audiobook

By: Jim S.

Jim S. — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 17:24:07 +0000

I have a bit of trouble with Jim Dale’s performance, particularly his Hermione voice. I much prefer Stephen Fry, who performs the British audiobooks. These are available through Amazon in the UK (and other less legitimate sources, if you know where to look).

By: Anthony

Anthony — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 16:53:52 +0000

Voldemort did it in the Common Room with the candlestick…

By: Higgins

Higgins — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 16:29:01 +0000

Cynthia – on the Voldemor(t) silence issue, I seem to recall that Jim Dale pronounced the word with a silent T until about Book 3 or 4, when all of a sudden there was the T, hard and present! It was a grating switch. I have to wonder if there was a meeting with somebody that led to the change….

By: Lindsay D

Lindsay D — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 16:23:36 +0000

By the way Higgins – I appreciate that you made a note at the top of your entry that it didn’t contain spoilers. NYT could have avoided a heck of a lot of backlash if only they had considered that a couple of days ago….

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 15:51:36 +0000

Yeah, it is nice to hear how these things are properly pronounced. Little Whinging’s pronunciation came as a surprise to me in the 5th movie. Also, when I first saw the word “pensieve,” I was sure it must be French, so I mentally pronounced it “pon-seev.” Don’t worry, I got thoroughly made fun of the first time I said that in front of other Harry Potter people. In keeping with the French theme, though, I still feel confident that the “t” on Voldemort is silent, but as it’s an anagrammed name anyway, it probably doesn’t matter.

By: boze

boze — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 15:42:41 +0000

My husband travels for business most days, spending lots of time in the car so does most of his “reading” in audio book form. He is currently working on the sixth book so I picked up Book 7 in audio books for him at 12:01 Saturday at Books-A-Million along with hardback copies. My daughter and I like the audio books on car trips also and have enjoyed earlier Potter books on audio. Jim Dale’s narration truly is a delight. Also, after reading the 7th (on paper), I must agree that it is AWESOME! – JK Rowling surely saved the best for last!

By: donner

donner — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 14:07:27 +0000

I love reading this perspective of the Harry Potter experience…we had read the words, but had NO idea how to pronounce them properly…so when we heard them the first time via the iTunes version, it was a surprise…I had NO idea that Whinging was pronounced “winge-ging”…I always thought “Wing-ing”…I think I still prefer the analog paper version, but I must admit, I have enjoyed listening to the iTunes versions of the previous books just as much…plus, it lets me multitask during the day, which I really appreciate…Accio time…

By: Lindsay D

Lindsay D — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 12:43:42 +0000

Oh! Jim Dale is such a treat to listen to! And while it is pleasing that you are listening to the audio books, I have to suggest reading them – that way you can take your time and really imagine the world that Rowling has written for us. It’s absolutely amazing and you will not be disappointed in the least. Happy reading Deathly Hallows! I agree with Cynthia, though I am a bit (read: a lot) biased, this may be the best book ever written!

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 03:13:18 +0000

I resisted Harry Potter for years, until my friend got me to sit down and really watch the third movie a couple of weeks before the 6th book came out. I watched it and liked it, so I bought the first 5 books and then the 6th when it came out one right after the other for a period of about 2 weeks straight. By the end, my inner monologue had turned completely British from doing the voices in my head.

I haven’t heard the audiobooks, but one of my friends is a big fan of the narration on them, as well, and likes to tell me all about it.

Enjoy the 7th book! My Harry-Potter-lovin’ friends and I all agree that it may be the best book ever written!!! (We’re rather biased, though…)