I know people praise Stephen Fry’s performance and rightly so but I just wanted to throw in my appreciation for Jim Dale. His voices had me absolutely transported. A real master at work. My personal favorite was his voice for Fudge, so pompous and nasally, and Kreacher which really brought a lot of emotion and power in “Kreacher’s Tale”
We were absolutely robbed of a cinematic masterpiece. I understand the directors and movie team's decisions to do what they did because previous teams didn't keep to the whole story, but holy moly...We could have spent less time in the forest and had this incredible scene.
When I first read HP7, I was young and didn't really pay attention to this part in the book and now when I went back, I realize how much we missed: like the house elf scene, the fact all of this actually takes place in the great hall, and my favorite Harry and Voldemort having a battle of knowledge before him finishing off ol Voldy and Harry describing how Snape was Dumbledore's man through and through and ugh..just the entire thing. We got maybe 1/4th of what the scene could have been. AND the fact that Voldemort's body is just there and someone moved it out of the Hall. Ugh.
And don't get me started on the fact Harry didn't just fix his wand with the elder wand. Could have been added easy. I'd love to hear what you all think!
Laura Kate Dale's series "Access-Ability" has been going on for a while and all of its videos are well worth watching.
The latest one focusses on ADHD and how ADHD affects gamers. Jim Sterling is retelling their own experience with gaming while suffering from ADHD and how a lack of certain features (for example maps) make it very hard for him to actually finish games because ADHD makes if particularly difficult to navigate complicated spaces; and how the lack of proper tutorials is another obstacle that quickly makes them lose interest in the game. Certainly the lack of such features affect neurotypical gamers too, but they are particularly important for people with ADHD.
The video explores these particularly examples further.
As the video descriptions puts it:
>This week's episode of Access-Ability is all about what it's like to play video games as a poerson with ADHD. My good friend Jim Sterling joins us this week to discuss what gaming is like for them, and what would help them game better with the condition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwRKLNb6wYA
Why does Luna sound like a 50 year old smoker??
And why can't Hermione say "Harry" like a normal person?? Every time he says "Harryyyy" I want to scream.
And why does he think Bellatrix is French? Her husband is French! She's British! Wtf.
His male voices are fine (except Dean Thomas's awful accent) but his female voices are a hot mess.
I've loved listening to the books for the first time because it's such a fun, different experience than just reading them. But I really wish I could find the Stephen Fry versions.
So I've been wanting to buy the audiobooks for a while so I can listen to them on demand at any moment on my phone because I'm obsessed. Does anyone know where I can buy it?? I wanted to get it from audible but I don't want to pay a monthly membership just for 7 books.
I also know there is a large debate on Stephen Fry vs. Jim Dale! I'm not sure which one to get?! Recommendations will be great.
Thanks for your help!
Three years ago my daughter was having anxiety every morning going to school. Having read the books years ago, I decided to start listening to the Harry Potter audiobooks on our 20 minute drive. Her anxiety quickly melted away. Took us 3 years to finish the series (paused listening because of pandemic and no longer in the car). We finished the series last week. We laughed, we cried, we cheered and she conquered her anxiety. We have now started them all over. Thank you, Jim Dale, for your magical narration.
I am started a re-read of the series , I have never listened to the audiobooks only the text books.
Which one should I listen too?
I’ve listened to Jim Dale’s HP audiobooks probably like 7 times by now, and I’m at Chamber of Secrets yet again. I like Dale’s Lockhart overall. It’s always sounded properly irritating and full of itself to me.
But one thing I can’t get over is how he reads, “Harry, Harry, Harry” in Lockhart’s voice. For some reason he takes a full pause after each time he says Harry’s name...and it’s so bizarre to me. I always read it at a pace similar to how Dwight says Jim, Jim, Jim at the start of this Office clip. But the pacing of this almost sounds like Lockhart keeps trying to get Harry’s attention since he’s not listening or something.
Do other people know what I’m talking about? Does it bug you guys as much as it bugs me? Probably not, but I’m still gonna ask
Sorcerers Stone: "I don't know." - Harry Potter
Chamber of Secrets: "I don't know." - Harry Potter
Prisoner of Azkaban: "I don't know." - Harry Potter
Goblet of Fire: "I don't know." - Harry Potter
Order of the Phoenix: "I don't know." - Harry Potter
Half-Blood Prince: "I don't know." - Harry Potter
Deathly Hallows: "I don't know." - Harry Potter
It's important to note that when read by Jim Dale it sounds more like, "I...dunno."
TL:DR: I'm mainly making this post because I have to provide a link to a r/harrypotter post to be accepted into my houses subreddit.
I got into the series in late 2001, when only books 1 - 4 were released. I immediately became OBSESSED with the series. I spent hours, every day, on mugglenet.com, read 4 full length fan fiction books and attended every subsequent midnight book/movie release event. Once Deathly Hallows was released, my obsession faded. I re-read the series 2 times in the next 2 years, but then moved on.
This year however, I decided to revisit the series by listening to the audio books... it was amazing. I just finished a couple weeks ago and I'm probably more obsessed now than I was as a teen. I'm bingeing Super Carlin Brothers vids and Mugglecast podcasts every chance I get. It's gotten so serious that, as q pet project, I staryed recording my own audio book recording of the whole series. I currently have the first 3 chapters recorded. I legit dropped $350 on recording equipment. I dont even plan on making them public. It's just for fun.
Anyways, I look forward to being involved in this community!
CONSTANT VIGILANCE!
I’ve only listened to Jim Dale and I love the way he reads them. He does all the voices so well and gets emotions just right.
What do you guys think and what are the differences? Is it worth it to give Stephen Fry a try? I’ve heard there are differences in Voldemort’s voice, Hermiones voice, and other small differences.
I used to prefer Jim Dale's take on the audiobooks because of his eccentric and animated tone of voice, but sometimes found his characters hard to differentiate. Now I'm almost exclusively a Stephen Fry listener because he seems more consistent (if not a bit toned down) and love the echo effect he often uses.
Curious who you guys prefer to whisper sweet harry potter nothings in your ear, and why?
Edit: I wanted to make this a pole but I guess it's not the week for that?
I own all of the US versions of the Harry Potter books but after hearing parts of the ones narrated by Stephen Fry I want to give those a listen, I am in the US with access to a VPN and all that and I’m willing to re-buy them no problem
Edit: dang, just woke up from a nap. Thank you for all the responses, you're all awesome!
I've read the books multiple times and have recently got my wife into them. But due to my job, a 2 yr old and being a husband I dont have time to sit down and read them. My wife and I have listened to the whole series probably three times and the way he narrates makes them even more engaging and fun. Has anyone else listened to them or have thoughts about them? Side note the goblet of fire movie does a complete disservice to the book.
Would you say you are a fan of the Jim Dale audiobooks? Thinking about having my mom listen to them as her introduction to the series.
The plight of the panthers is an interesting viewpoint into the unique prism roster construction that they have chosen.
https://twitter.com/NHLbyMatty/status/1234511927683928065
Has anyone in this subreddit grown up with the Jim Dale audio book recordings of the Harry Potter Books? Ever since Quarantine hit here in the states I've been looking for new things to do and ended up digging up the cassettes for the Harry Potter audio books read by Jim Dale and listening to them on an old cassette player. I'm just now realizing how important he was in getting me stupidly sucked into this series. Known as a pop singer who became a leading actor at the national theater in the UK, his voice renditions of all the characters bring back such character and charm to the personalities as they appeared in the books.
It's such a treat to be experiencing the books all over again in this way and recall how different they were from the movies. Does anyone here have a favorite book that feels like the movie really let them down? For me it was the 5th.
I've been listening to the Jim Dale audiobooks for about 10 years and I LOVE them. I love (almost) all the voices and his delivery. But lately I've been seeing so many people talking about the Stephen Fry version, I'm curious. Which is better and why?
Soo I’m currently listening to the audiobooks. I’m on deathly hallows. I’ve listened to them before and idk how I didn’t notice it before, but I’m currently on chapter 17, Bathildas secret and all of a sudden Harry and Hermiones voice almost sound like Hagrid... has anyone noticed this? I really hope it stops soon, it’s driving me nuts.
I’ve never listened to the Harry Potter audiobooks because I never knew which one to choose. What makes each version great? Why do you prefer one over the other?
Alright, since everyone’s probably been re-listening to the Harry Potter AudioBooks during Lockdown, I thought I’d take this opportunity to ask this infamous question again.
Who did a better job at narrating the HP AudioBooks?
Here’s my take.
Definitely Fabulous Fry
I was introduced to HP through the original British Audiobooks by Fry. (I’m Visually Impaired, meaning that physical books weren’t very convenient lol. AudioBooks are literally my world.)
For me personally, Fry just has this charm, and manages bring the magic of the series...alive. His voice just has that fantastical yet soothing feel to it. Y’know, a classic British gentleman, reading these books about a Magic School?
Fry also does an excellent job with the character voices, humour and immersion.
For example: Dumbledore sounds so Grandfatherly, Harry’s sarcasm is on point and you know the whole deal with Voldemort’s “high, cold, clear” voice? Well, Fry’s interpretation is exactly what I imagined it to sound like. Compared to how they portrayed Voldy in the movies anyway.
In my mind, the canonical book-HP Universe is Fry’s version. I can’t visualise J.K. Rowling’s characters in any other way.
Harry - Sweet, strong & sarcastic Ron - Humorous & Caring Hermione - Stubborn, Smart & Secretive Hagrid - Fierce, Wild & Companionable Dumbledore - A Wise Old Man With Too Much Love & A Twinkle In The Eye Voldy - Shrill, Sadistic & Soulless The Dursleys, Waasleys, Marauders, The Da, Dobby, Umbridge...
Yeah. I think you guys get my point.
I have honestly listened to the whole series countless times now... Each time, I’m blown away; I always notice something or learn something new... Overall, if you want the true HP, go with Stephen. (Me being biased lol.)
Which narrator do you prefer, and why? My personal preference is Stephen Fry, mainly because Jim Dale has weird pronunciations and female voices.
