In May 2021, I first listened to the first Harry Potter audiobook - 'Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone' or 'Harry Potter and The Sorcerers Stone' written by Joanne Rowling, and narrated by both Stephen Fry and Jim Dale. I have written an article about this, which you can read before continuing this article.
Since then, I listened to the audiobooks of the second and third Harry Potter books in December 2022 (Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets) and December 2023 (Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban). Here are my two cents on the second and third audiobooks. While a lot of things I said in my article on the first audiobook hold true here as well, there are some differences.
The entire magical world Rowling has built around Harry Potter and Hogwarts makes you wish you could visit that realm. Basking in the Hogwarts Grounds by the Black Lake, exploring the castle and its various secrets, eating in the Great Hall, visiting The Burrow, shopping in Diagon Alley, and exploring Hogsmeade and the Ministry of Magic, would make for an excellent time indeed. And all this is just the start. While reading the books makes you feel cosy and watching the films is fun, listening to the audiobooks is a wonderful combination of the two.
In the first book, Harry Potter is an eleven-year-old child from an abusive household who discovers magic and his true heritage for the first time and is off to attend a magical school. Here, he meets Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, Hagrid, Professor Dumbledore, and Professor McGonagall. The first audiobook (and by extension, the first movie) is charming and comforting, as is the first book (and by extension, the first movie).
In the second book, Harry is twelve years old, and the plot begins to pick up. A legendary monster is in the school and wants to kill. It is connected to the Hogwarts Founders and is a thrilling tale. Here, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley go in search of clues to solve this mystery and save the school. This book still has the child-like charm of the first book. While narrating this story, Stephen Fry has a way of keeping you on the edge of your seat, waiting for what comes next. Jim Dale, on the other hand, uses different voices for different characters, keeping you well immersed in the narration.
In the third book, Harry Potter is a thirteen-year-old teenager whom a mass murderer is after. The plot slowly moves away from the child-like wonder in this book, as Harry Potter and Hermione Granger run a race against time (literally) to save some innocents from terrible fates. On the way, Harry learns about his past, his parents, and the war that was going on before his parents were murdered. Jim Dale, in my opinion, executed the voices of the growing children better, while Stephen Fry did a better job at keeping the suspense in the plot.
All in all, I most definitely enjoyed listening to Stephen Fry and Jim Dale, as much as I enjoyed Rowling's work. I look forward to listening to the narration of the fourth book (Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire) soon.