Have You Heard About... Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on audiobook

Fran J — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 06:07:54 +0000

… the many voices of Jim Dale, the narrator for the Harry Potter audio books? As my first foray into the world of audio books, I tried listening to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone a couple months ago, and I felt like I was discovering the series all over again. I won’t go into a plot summary of the Harry Potter books, since most everyone is familiar with the story, but I will say that listening to the books on CD is completely magical.

Jim Dale, a well-known British actor, narrates the entire series, and brings the characters to life in a way that goes beyond mere imagination. (Need proof? Listen to Chapter four of The Sorcerer’s Stone, when we are first introduced to Hagrid. Jim’s voice for the bearded giant exceeds anything our imaginations could ever convey.)

And while nothing will ever be able to take the place of my Harry Potter book collection, I’m really happy that I gave these audio books a listen. It’s like being treated to story time as an adult, and by the time I finish the seventh book, I know that I will be just as sad to leave Hogwarts as I was when I first finished the series. So, thank you, Jim Dale. Thank you for bringing Harry Potter to life for me again.

Reviewed by Katie (staff)

Have You Heard About... Leviathan

Fran J — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 06:15:22 +0000

… the living airships of World War I? The audiobook Leviathan* is a fantastic example of steampunk fiction done right. Scott Westerfeld adds mechanical robots and whale airships to World War I which makes it a hundred times more exciting.

The voice of Alan Cumming makes it easy to imagine yourself alongside Deryn, a girl pretending to be a boy in order to serve in the British Air Force. Deryn is one of my favorite characters of all time. She is funny, brave and incredibly smart. What I like most is the fact that she saves the Austrian Prince Alexander multiple times.

*Later books in the series include Behemoth and Goliath.

Reviewed by Vanessa (staff)

Waukegan Public Library - audiobook

Have You Heard About... Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on audiobook

Have You Heard About... Leviathan