Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Book 1

Publisher's Summary

"Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large letter 'H'."

Harry Potter has never even heard of Hogwarts when the letters start dropping on the doormat at number four, Privet Drive. Addressed in green ink on yellowish parchment with a purple seal, they are swiftly confiscated by his grisly aunt and uncle. Then, on Harry's eleventh birthday, a great beetle-eyed giant of a man called Rubeus Hagrid bursts in with some astonishing news: Harry Potter is a wizard, and he has a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. An incredible adventure is about to begin! 

©1997 J.K. Rowling (P)1999 Listening Library, an imprint of Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group

Critic Reviews

"To call Dale a 'reader' of books is like saying Monet was a Sunday painter." (Los Angeles Times)

My Sad, Sad Confession…

I will be completely honest here. I put off this book from the moment the hype took over, simply because I refused to believe the story would hold any interest for me. I even passed on the movies, honestly believing this was nothing more than a kid/young adult fairy tale that couldn’t possibly be anything worthwhile. I was wrong and I am so glad I finally convinced myself to read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone! I even went into the first few chapters thinking, “Okay, this is readable, but I still don’t see what all the fuss is about”. But by the time I reached the end of the story I found that I not only liked it, I was eager to read the next one. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone shows a lot of imagination and creativity that literally sucks you into the story and has you rooting for Harry (and the gang) throughout. Every time I thought the plot was predictable, Rowling flipped the script and surprised me. The characters were well developed and well thought out in advance, each with traits, quirks and flaws that makes each individual character stand out uniquely on their own. A lot of times I judge a book by the villain and Rowling didn’t disappoint with Voldemort. What a terrifying villain! I don’t want to give any spoilers but as far as “big bads” go, Voldemort is a top notch nemesis and I can’t wait to see more of him in the series. This is the type of villain every protagonist should face and I applaud Rowling for her genius construction of such a chilling threat.

I’ve raved about Voldemort, but every character is fascinating and intriguing. Every time I thought I had seen it all, she pulls out a new and fascinating character or mythological creature to grab my attention again. The novel has an addictive quality to it that has me eager to read all of the books in this series. I hope the rest of the books are as entertaining as the first (based on the mega fan base I’m sure that they are!) and now I can finally watch the movies- yeah, I know, I’m super late to the party, but better late than never right?

The narration in this audio book by Jim Dale is a fantastic performance that added layers of depth to Rowling’s work. He gave each character a unique voice that is easily identifiable and never missed a beat as the ongoing action rolled on. He put a lot of heart and hard work into this performance and captivated my attention throughout. This was truly a great listen and I will look for more works by him in the future, starting with the next six books in this series since he narrated them all. That’s a huge plus for this series. I hate when a series like this gets split up by multiple narrators and I’m thrilled Dale is handling all of these books. If you haven’t read this- don’t put it off any longer like I did. Pick this up today!

464 of 507 people found this review helpful

Outstanding

Would you consider the audio edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Book 1 to be better than the print version?

Wow, that's hard. There is, as there always is for me, so much enjoyment in reading for myself with my own timing, like stopping to imagine a scene, re-reading something that made me laugh, etc. But after having read the book, I really enjoyed listening to it.

What about Jim Dale’s performance did you like?

His performance matched pretty closely the way I would have read the book out loud to myself, and you can't ask for more than that!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It would just be silly to binge listen to such a huge and amazing (magical) story. Enjoy it!

138 of 168 people found this review helpful

Terrible at Hermione, Distractingly

The narrator was good except for females, I could hardly tell them apart or he made them sound whiny or just, not right at all and it was highly distracting and frustrating. I kept wondering to myself why in the world, How could they not correct? Or geez, have 2 people narrate like a play. I am a massive HP fan, read every book immediately as they were released while growing up.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

outstanding story told brilliantly

Found myself hating to pause the story. The narrator puts you right in the middle of Hogwarts. I'm looking forward to the whole series.

29 of 36 people found this review helpful

A modern classic

Brilliantly original and imaginative, while accessible to young readers and still entertaining for adults, the Harry Potter series is a triumph.

23 of 29 people found this review helpful

A great reading of the wrong book

It is (as you can already tell by the title) the US variation of the book, with all the oddness that comes with it but it mostly cames out unscathed.
I've heard the UK audiobook before, however, and while Jim Dale comes close, Stephen Fry is the better narrator so I'm doubly annoyed that we don't have the option to buy the Philosopher's Stone version.

231 of 304 people found this review helpful

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!

If you could sum up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Book 1 in three words, what would they be?

A. MA.ZING.

Have you listened to any of Jim Dale’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Excellent. If you like this, I recommend his reading of the Books of Beginning Series. This first is the Emerald Atlas. I will say that on the first listen I did not like the portrayal of Hermione. She seemed a little whiny. But I persevered, and now that I am used to it, I am glad I stuck it out.

Any additional comments?

I have listened to these over and over, checking them out from my local library. I have an hour commute each way to and from work, and I have listened to these so many times. I also listen to them at night as I fall alseep to Jim Dale's calm voice. I always wanted to own them, but I just could not afford the price on Pottermore. I don't know what prompted the shift, but I am eternally grateful. This has made my day, my week, my month, and quite possibly my whole year.

165 of 218 people found this review helpful

Great book done justice by a great narrator

I read each Potter book with huge enjoyment within days of the publication of each.

I listened to the Potter series years ago when they first came out on CD. These wonderful stories are done full justice by Jim Dale, whose narration compliments Rowling's lovely characters perfectly. I am so delighted that Rowling has finally allowed the digital versions to be sold on Audible as the cost of them through her website was ridiculous.

At any rate, if you have not listened to Harry Potter - even if you've read it and seen the films - you will be introduced to Harry, Ron, Hermione and all the denizens of Hogwarts in a different way when you listen to The Sorcerer's Stone.

I can't seen any point in recapping the plot because I just assume everyone has read at least the first two of these books, but I can tell you that listening to them is an "immersive" experience. Of course, that's true of any book, but the richness of Rowling's characters, settings and situations are brought to life, in my opinion, in an entirely different way when you listen to Jim Dale read them to you.

If you already love and appreciate the Harry Potter series, you'll rediscover it when you listen. If you have NOT yet read any Harry Potter... my condolences. If you listen, you may discover what you missed!

109 of 144 people found this review helpful

The narrator is what caused 3 stars.

I have read the physical books, loved them all. I wanted the audio versions for my drive to work. The narrator ruined this book for me. Didn't anyone bother to edit this? He pronounces names completely wrong. His interpretation of the conversations is off. I was just disappointed.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Narration feels a little rushed

Jim Dale has an interesting way of narrating Harry Potter. it sometimes feels rushed. I definitely feel Stephen Fry does a better job at keeping a steady pace.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful