Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter #1) – J.K. Rowling

Title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter #1) by J.K. Rowling
Publishing Info: September 1998 by Scholastic Inc.
Source: Library
Genres: Children's & Middle Grade, Fantasy, Fantasy, Young Adult
Find it on the web: Buy from Amazon // GoodreadsDate Completed: September 13, 2013 (re-read)
Related Posts: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter #2), The Hogwarts Library, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter #3), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter #4), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter #5), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter #6), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter #7), Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Harry Potter #8)

    Harry Potter has never played a sport while flying on a broomstick. He's never worn a Cloak of Invisibility, befriended a giant, or helped hatch a dragon. All Harry knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley. Harry's room is a tiny cupboard under the stairs, and he hasn't had a birthday party in ten years.
    But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to a wonderful place he never dreamed existed. There he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic around every corner, but a great destiny that's been waiting for him... if Harry can survive the encounter.

I’ve re-read the entire Harry Potter series countless times (seriously. I’ve lost count… Then again, I didn’t keep track when I first started all these re-reads) and before I started getting back into reading, whenever I needed a book, Harry Potter was my go-to. I’d finish the series and then just start all over again and for a while there, it was pretty much the only thing I read except for a few Meg Cabot books. I felt like it was time for a re-read because I really missed reading this series and I toiled over the fact that I’m falling further and further behind on my reading and wasn’t going to have time to do it. Lucky for me, I had plenty of friends who assured me that the audio was amazing and the perfect way to do my re-reads. And they were right.

It’s hard to review a book I’ve re-read countless times and that everyone already knows so well but I’m going to do my best! I will say that as a blogger, re-reading this series was kind of an entirely different experience. I was paying more attention to how the characters interacted and MUCH more attention to the world building which, BRAVO, JK Rowling because everything about this book is fantastic. Having more of a analytical approach to reading actually enhanced this experience for me because I was paying so much more attention to all of the details and the foreshadowing was that much more interesting as well.

I loved going through this discovery with Harry again for the first time. Obviously the movies have to cut things out and some minor things are switched around (like which character said what) for production, but Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone being the first book, this is definitely the closest book to movie adaptation of the series. One of the best parts about this movie series being so big as well (and also have watched the movies countless times too) is that listening to the audio was like watching the movie in my head. It’s great to be able to picture the characters in full. Usually when I read, I end up picking up on the author’s details of character descriptions (or sometimes I don’t… Oops) but I don’t usually see a specific face in my head. Since I don’t know the “person”, it’s hard for me to make up a face to match. I know the Harry Potter movies so well that it’s easy for me to picture each and every character as well as their mannerisms so it just makes the audiobook that much more lively for me.

I think the thing I was most impressed with was re-living all of the world building. In some fantasy books, the world building stops at the world and really, there can be some pretty amazing worlds out there. But JK Rowling right off the bat gets so detailed. She’s clearly thought every small thing out and plotted this whole world out for her readers which is really why I think these books are so amazing and almost feel real. We not only see the characters but we see their families, their friends, their teachers. We see Hogwarts but it also has ghosts, houses, rules, sports, classes, books, potions — all of which even have their OWN histories. There’s the wizarding world outside of Hogwarts with shops, communities, subdivisions, strategically placed wizards and squibs in the Muggle world. EVERYTHING IS THOUGHT OUT. Which is also why I really think this world is real and JK is just trying to BOLDLY TELL US that there really is magic out there!

Audiobook Impressions

Re-reading the Harry Potter series on audio is making me fall in love with it all over again and I’m SO happy that Jim Dale narrates these. I think I first fell in love with his narration on Pushing Daisies (I miss Ned the Piemaker… Sorry– focus, focus.) and was SO excited when I turned on the audio of The Night Circus to find out he was doing the narration for that too.
Okay, sorry. Sidetracked again… The narration of Harry Potter is wonderful. Jim Dale just has that narrator’s voice and it has a certain magic of its own. From the regality of Dumbledore to the peevishness of, well, Peeves (RIGHT? I totally forgot about Peeves after watching the movies for so many years), Jim Dale just totally nails the audio. If you’re looking for a good way to re-read Harry Potter (or read for the first time if you haven’t read it yet!), the audiobooks are totally the way to go!

Harry Potter // Character Obsessions: Quidditch, learning magic, avoiding the Dursleys, suspecting Snape.
You know what… Harry has actually never been my favorite character. Yes, yes, I do like him, but he was just never quite my style. I fully appreciate every adventure that he’s been on, the hardships he goes through and okay… I guess in HP1, he is kind of a favorite. I mean, the main character and show-stealer SHOULD be a favorite, right? It’s just SO hard to separate this book from the others when I know the rest of the series back and forth.
Ron Weasley // Character Obsessions: Adventures, sarcasm, living up to his brothers.  
I think Ron was always a favorite. I can’t remember a time when his little quips, vivid blush, and natural awkwardness wasn’t endearing to me. I love the Weasleys as a family as well because they just warm my heart and each one of them just feels like they should be a part of my family (I wish). Anyway… In HP1, I love Ron for the way he pushes Harry into adventures and is truly the best friend and not just a best friend character. It’s an instant bond between Harry and Ron and I love seeing that friendship grow from the beginning all over again.
Hermione Granger // Character Obsessions: School, studying, answering questions, being a know-it-all, mastering spells.
Since I know where our Hermione ends up, it’s hard to feel irritation towards her like Harry and Ron did at first in this book… But I can appreciate how a know-it-all like Hermione would get on people’s nerves! As a kid, she doesn’t know how to control how she comes off to other people and that really hurts her reputation at first. I love how she, Ron, and Harry really became friends and how there was no doubt after that moment.

Kept Me Hooked On: Re-reads. I’ve been dying to re-read Harry Potter for a while now so thank goodness for the audiobooks! I have NOT had any time whatsoever to fit in another re-read so this audio was PERFECT for me.
Left Me Wanting More: Wow, I actually sat here at the keyboard trying to come up with something and I can’t. Seriously, these books are too perfect, especially once you’ve fallen deeply in love with them and come back to revisit.

Addiction Rating
BUY IT! Of course.

Oh, COME ON, people. It’s Harry Potter. Just go buy this series. In multiple formats.

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