jim dale

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Audiobook Review: A Delightful and Compelling Journey

by Stefani

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Narrated by: Jim Dale

Published: December 1, 1999 by Listening Library

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

The Dursleys were so mean that hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he’s packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.

And strike it does. For in Harry’s second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockheart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls’ bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley’s younger sister, Ginny.

But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone–or something–starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects…Harry Potter himself?

Rating:

Review:

After all my years of reading and listening (and re-reading/re-listening) to the Harry Potter books I have always remembered Chamber of Secrets to be one of my least favorite. Not for any particular reason, but I always remember finding it less compelling than the others. I wonder if my reading habits have changed or my perspective of the book has changed but this was delightful.

A lot of the things that I struggled with in the first book were rectified here. There were less examples of Harry and his friends stepping into situations that they had no logical reason to believe they could solve. But in this book, because it affects Harry so personally it makes a lot more sense that he would see it as a mission to fix it himself. Harry changed a lot in this book. He went from a naive 11 year old who didn’t even know magic existed and was thrown into a situation where people believed that he was hurting people. He even had Hermoine taken away from him for a large portion of the story, who has always been his most sympathetic ear. He was nearly alone and it was a great test for him.

This book also shows us an entirely different kind of Voldemort. We see him as the boy he used to be. We learn that he and Harry shared a lot in common. We see him in the light he wishes to show Harry…the Head Boy, the school hero, the one who stopped the bad guy. It’s not the truth, as we know now, but it’s how he wanted Harry to perceive him. He used this to try and create a kinship with Harry so that he could manipulate him. And it’s just marvelous. Rowling has one of the best talents for adding complexity to her characters. I’ve never encountered an author that is as good at characterization as she is. Everyone is an intricately complex human being. Neither entirely good, nor entirely bad, just like all the rest of us humans. I find it remarkable.

This book also has a lot of little gems that I had forgotten about. This book is really funny. I had forgotten just how humorous it was. Dobby is so earnestly trying to be helpful, and failing so spectacularly, that it’s comical. Lockhart is absolutely hilarious. It is so fun to see some people absolutely hanging on his every word and others rolling their eyes before he even opens his mouth. He is perfectly pompous and it had me rolling out of my chair laughing. Since the rest of the book is so dark and serious it lightened the mood considerably in all the right places.

In the end, I enjoyed this book much more than I ever have before. It feels like sacrilege to say but I think I liked it more than the first book.

Note: You may or may not have noticed that I tried something different with the post title of this one. Let me know what you think. Whether you like it or hate it, I would love the feedback.

Progress Updates Friday – August 2, 2024

by Stefani

Our Vengeful Souls by Kristi McManus

Progress: 127 of 290 pages

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

When magical mermaid Sereia saves her little sister and overshadows brother and rightful heir, Triton, the position of next ruler of the sea is in question. Determined to keep his throne, Triton curses Sereia, transforming her into a human and stripping her of magic. Banishing her from their underwater kingdom, he gives her a final warning: if you should ever return, you will become a monster.

Left for dead, Sereia washes up on the shores of Atlantis, discovered by a kind merchant with a tragic past. Patient and charming, he helps her build a life on land, leaving her realizing that everything she was taught about humans may have been wrong. But legends are powerful forces, and mermaids are burned for their magic by humans who fear their power. Sereia is forced to keep her true identity a secret, even as her feelings for her savior deepen.

Channeling her skill with a blade, she finds a place within the ranks of the Atlantean army, finally giving her the chance to become the respected warrior she always desired. During her training, however, she discovers the legend of a trident of equal power to her father’s exists, and is within her grasp in Atlantis. With a way back to the sea in her grasp, she wavers between the pull of revenge and the possibility of love on land, all under the hateful eye of a vengeful enemy within her ranks. But when the fate of a friend is in the balance, she must make the hardest decision of all: be burned at the stake as a witch, or turn into a monster should she return to the sea.

How it’s going:

This book is just so prettily written. The writing is beautiful. So is the world building and the character building. Sereia is starting to become accustomed to life on land. However, she still obsesses over wanting to get back to the sea. She is searching high and low for answers about how to break the curse so that she can get revenge on her brother. I find myself wanting to read this a bit at a time, to savor it more.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Progress: 60%

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

The Dursleys were so mean that hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he’s packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.

And strike it does. For in Harry’s second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockheart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls’ bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley’s younger sister, Ginny.

But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone–or something–starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects…Harry Potter himself.

How it’s going:

Once again, I have to say what a marvel Jim Dale is. I am consistently surprised that people don’t like his narration of the audiobooks. How can you not? I had forgotten how funny all the Lockhart antics are. When he tells Harry that he isn’t quite famous enough yet to be giving out signed pictures. I howled with laughter.

The Bitter Truth by Shanora Williams

Progress: 38 pages of 320

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

An upstanding political candidate. A determined stalker. A shattering lost weekend. Now, when his worst secret comes calling, how far will one man’s elegant, all-too-devoted wife go to uncover the truth . . . or bury it?

For Jolene “Jo” Baker, the least she can do for her adoring husband, Dominic, is give unwavering support for his North Carolina gubernatorial run. He is not only the love of her life, he’s also helping her prove that she’s far more than just a pampered trophy wife. With huge crowds showing up at Dominic’s speeches and the polls consistently in his favor, she’s never been happier to stand proudly by his side . . .

Until she and Dominic start seeing the same, strangely ominous woman turning up all along the campaign trail. Until their tour starts becoming a nightmare of botched events, crucial missed information, and increasingly dangerous “accidents.” Suddenly Jo can’t get any answers from Dominic—or understand why he is acting so paranoid and terrified . . .

What Jo can do is start digging into his past—one she’s never really questioned beyond his perfect image and dazzling accomplishments. What results is an alarming series of events that leave her Good friends turn into enemies, truths are revealed to be lies, and all clues lead back to one secret, shattering weekend that changes Jo’s entire life. With her world splintering into pieces, can Jo risk trying to set things right? Or will hiding the bitter truth by any means necessary destroy her as well?

How it’s going:

So far so good with this one. I am not entirely sure what the Prologue has to do with the rest of the book, but I am hopeful that will come in time. The initial introduction to the characters is interesting and the writing is solid. No complaints from me.

Audiobook review: Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone by JK Rowling

by Stefani

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

Narrated by: Jim Dale

Published: June 26, 1997 by Scholastic

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

Harry Potter has no idea how famous he is. That’s because he’s being raised by his miserable aunt and uncle who are terrified Harry will learn that he’s really a wizard, just as his parents were. But everything changes when Harry is summoned to attend an infamous school for wizards, and he begins to discover some clues about his illustrious birthright. From the surprising way he is greeted by a lovable giant, to the unique curriculum and colorful faculty at his unusual school, Harry finds himself drawn deep inside a mystical world he never knew existed and closer to his own noble destiny.

Rating:

Review:

I have always loved the Harry Potter books. I was first introduced to them about six months after Prisoner of Azkaban was released. And I devoured them. I was the crazy person who signed up for all of the midnight releases of the new books. Got locked into the Barnes & Noble to await the book being delivered, got my book at midnight and went home to start reading. Once I was an adult I would take the following day off work to read the book in one sitting. I couldn’t get enough. I saw every film on release day. I bought every audiobook on release day. For a long time when I worked a data entry job I would listen to the audiobooks on repeat. I would get to the end and start again, over and over and over. So this was a comfort listen for me.

As far as the narration goes, what more do I need to say other than Jim Dale. Disclaimer, I also love the audiobooks by Stephen Fry because he is a legend and I adore his version. But there’s just something special about the Jim Dale audiobooks. He puts on such a performance! All of the voices and the inflection and the emotion. He is a legend. I could listen to these audiobooks every single day and never get bored of hearing his voice.

Enough of my fawning over Jim Dale, on to the book. It was just as book as I remembered it. One of the most memorable opening sentences in all of fiction, ““Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.” This single line puts you into this world immediately. You know exactly what kind of people the Dursley’s are. And then you have the wonder of all the “strange” and “unusual” thing that Vernon Dursley keeps noticing, but doesn’t say anything to Petunia because he wouldn’t want to worry her. The moment Harry Potter learns he is a wizard is a moment filled with so much emotion that it still makes me tear up.

Naturally the book isn’t perfect, but it’s close. You have to suspend reality a lot for this plot to be plausible. Why a group of 11 year old children, who had been learning magic for about 5 minutes, thought that they were more capable of protecting the stone than a group of wizards and witches that had more magical experience in their pinky finger? Realizing that if Harry had just left well enough alone that Voldemort wouldn’t have stood a chance at getting the stone in the first place, so he put his friends in danger entirely unnecessarily. And, of course, the royal screw job that Dumbledore gives Slytherin for the House Cup at the end of the book.

But, if you just suspend your imagination a little then these are merely things to giggle about in an otherwise legendary book. The only place where this book loses a star for me is that is it full of tropes. The nerdy, unattractive girl. The fat boy who resembles a pig. The shabby kid who comes from a large family and doesn’t dress well. A lot of tropes that make me crinkle my nose a bit as an adult. But it is just as magical reading it for the thousandth time as it was the first.