Audio: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, narrated by Jim Dale

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

My rating: 5 of 5 stars




Everyone knows this story.

I read this aloud to the girls, long ago, when it first came out. In fact, it was handy having the series coming out as it did. We read along with each book. Harry's world got more complex as he grew older and the girls grew older just at the right time to enjoy each one. We must have read at least the first three or four books in the series that way. Then we'd get the new one and pass it around, reading at break-neck speed and steadfastly refusing to discuss it until the last person had finished.

With the last movie coming out, I began thinking about rereading the books but already have too much reading on my plate. So I got the audio for the first book from the library.

What a treat!

Jim Dale is such an accomplished narrator that the book is taking on new life. Not only am I rediscovering what a wonderful book it is, but his voicing of the characters is giving each of them new depth and life as well.

That is what the really good audiobooks do, though, is make a book into a new experience. It also becomes more immediate, more personal, if you will. (I discovered that listening to East of Eden, when I had to switch to the regular printed book in order to distance myself from the bad people Steinbeck was writing about.)


My Goodreads reviews. For my older reviews, see the Books page on this blog.