Complete set of Harry Potter audiobooks at Amazon.com
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago by Alderete
I’m still waiting for a deluxe boxed set of all the audiobooks, like the deluxe print books set, but if you’re just looking for a great deal on a complete set, packaging be damned, here’s all seven Harry Potter audiobooks at Amazon.com, at a 40% discount from full retail.
It’s still $275, but considering what they cost individually, if you want to own all seven, this is the way to go. The total running time is almost five days — at under $2.50/hour, it’s hard to imagine a better value for your entertainment dollar. Enjoy!
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March 20th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Do you know why there are two different narrators for the Potter series? Jim Dale does the US audiobooks and Stephen Fry does the UK versions. I have heard that it might possibly be due to the textual differences between the UK and US editions, but the differences are so slight it doesn’t make sense. Also, where there are differences, couldn’t the same narrator just read it twice and have it edited for whichever country?
This has perplexed me from day one, as I have heard Stephen Fry does an amazing read and it’s a shame we don’t have access to him here in the States. Any information, insight ,or guesses as to what the deal is? Thanks –
March 23rd, 2008 at 3:57 pm
@Jensenly: It seems like it’s not unusual (and perhaps common) for audiobooks to have one narrator for the recording released in the US and a different one in the UK. I suspect it has to do with accents; what is pleasing or understandable to the British ear may not be so to an American.
There are also definitely textual differences, at least in the Harry Potter novels, but they’re mostly trivial. But they necessitate extra time in the recording studio, additional pre- and post-production effort, etc. I imagine at that point doing an entirely different performance isn’t as huge a deal as it might seem, especially if there are different aesthetic goals for each.
I have listened to only the first 15 minutes of the Stephen Fry performance of HP #1, so it’s very hard for me to judge his qualities as a narrator for the series. Fry’s performance seemed more understated than the Jim Dale recordings, which I love. While I very often prefer the more subtle sensibilities of British vs American actors, in the case of the fantastical and whimsical Harry Potter books, I suspect that Jim Dale’s more energetic narration will be my preference.
I plan to purchase complete box sets of both the Dale and Fry performances, though, and will give them a complete review once I’ve listened to them thoroughly (which means it’ll be a year or two before this gets done).
March 24th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Very much looking forward to your review of both box sets somewhere down the line……
April 30th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Just came across the above discussion and was suprised to hear that a different narrator had been used for the American version. Retrospectively maybe I should not have been as the comments mad by Alderete seemed most sensible.
My only bone of contention was that of the comments made about Stephen Fry’s narration which to my mind, is absolutely brilliant. Hence the many audiobook awards he has been given. Please US readers, give him every chance as 15 minutes does not give him the respect he deserves.
Having said all that, I will have to listen to Jim Dale’s narration now. This is going to cost a fortune!
April 30th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
@Mark Gibson: I could not agree more that Stephen Fry deserves more than the 15 minutes I’ve given him. I’m a huge Stephen Fry fan, and I’m quite certain I’ll enjoy his performance, once I get to hear it.
But as you point out, it’s ridiculously expensive to get access to the complete set of Fry-narrated books. It’s not just that the set is $275+, but the Fry performances are impossible to get in the U.S. So it’s Amazon.co.uk, and the big shipping charge that’ll come with it. So I’m waiting for the deluxe sets, so I only have to buy them (both Fry and Dale) once. (And don’t get me started on the children’s vs. adult’s editions of the Fry performances — the artwork on each is amazing, and wildly different. I want both!)