With a book series like HARRY POTTER, I find I like to read it in hardcover first, then listen to the audiobook version afterwards. (Then, of course, see the movie…)
Back when the HARRY POTTER series first came out, audiobook versions weren’t as prevalent, so I had to do it the ‘hard way’ starting with HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE: read it for myself. For me, that established a certain set of ‘voices’ in my head for each character (besides the other voices that are already in there! LOL). As each book in the series was released, I found I liked keeping my own set of rhythms, cadences and nuances ‘consistent’ for Harry, Hermione, Ron (and all the others) by continuing to read it for myself for the first time, taking as long as I wanted with each chapter or scene to make sure it ‘felt’ familiar. (There’s also just something about holding it in your hands, the heft and feel of a great hardcover, plus it doesn’t hurt that J K Rowling is such a consistently good writer…!)
However, just as the movies give additional layers to the characters and storylines that you just don’t get through reading, so do the unabridged HARRY POTTER audiobooks. They give me a 3rd way to ‘live’ the stories, through Jim Dale’s telling of them, with his as the ‘voice in my head’ that time around. (Not much room left in there, though. Glad he’s been the narrator for ALL of them!! =)
Listening to someone else read a book for you gives you a whole new perspective and sometimes a new take on scenes you might not have noticed before or skimmed very quickly or that had a different flavor in your own mind. And just as when I watch the HARRY POTTER movies over (and over and over) I catch things I missed the first (and second and sometimes fifteenth) time out, listening to the audiobook version can do that for me, too.
Of course, depending on the narrator, it can make or break the experience for you. In the case of the HARRY POTTER audiobooks, though, Jim Dale is one of the best. He can be a ‘voice in my head’ anytime… (For more on Jim Dale, click on the picture for his official website.)
To see the Official J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter) website go to: www.jkrowling.com
