Rob
Executive Summary: This is a really great end to what has truly become and instant classic series. I'm a bit sad my re-visit is over, but I'm sure this won't be the last time I revisit this series.Jim Audio Book: I really enjoy Jim Dale. I imagine whatever I listen to in the near future will have an incredibly tough time measuring up.Stephen Fry Audio Book: I really enjoy Stephen Fry as well. Now that I've done the series with both, I still can't decide. If I had to pick, I think Dale is better for the earlier lighter books and Fry is better for the later darker ones, but you really can't go wrong either way.Full Review I originally gave this book a 5, but dropped it to a 4. On this re-read I up-rated [b:Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 5 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3) J.K. Rowling https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1499277281s/5.jpg 2402163] because it was better than I remember. This book didn't quite hold up. It's a high 4 though.Early on I was definite I wanted to drop it 4, but as I got closer to the end I was less sure. I'm still a little iffy on it. This is really a story of two halves. The first half is slow sometimes to the point of being tedious.I'm not sure if it was intentional or not. I certainly felt as frustrated as the characters at their lack of progress.The second half of the book is truly excellent. The first part is what spoils a 5 star for me though. I'm trying to be a bit more frugal with what I give 5 stars to, to give that rating a bit more meaning. Cover to Cover this book just wasn't as enjoyable to me as [b:Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 5 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3) J.K. Rowling https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1499277281s/5.jpg 2402163] or [b:Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 6 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4) J.K. Rowling https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1361482611s/6.jpg 3046572].That said, I love this book and I for one am happy with the ending. I have this perception that many(some?) people were upset at the epilogue. I've heard complaints that Ms. Rowling left nothing to the imagination.In some books that would bother me. For Harry Potter, it does not. I think if I had to imagine what would happen next, the Epilogue is exactly what I'd have wanted.
Executive Summary: This is a really great end to what has truly become and instant classic series. I'm a bit sad my re-visit is over, but I'm sure this won't be the last time I revisit this series.Jim Audio Book: I really enjoy Jim Dale. I imagine whatever I listen to in the near future will have an incredibly tough time measuring up.Stephen Fry Audio Book: I really enjoy Stephen Fry as well. Now that I've done the series with both, I still can't decide. If I had to pick, I think Dale is better for the earlier lighter books and Fry is better for the later darker ones, but you really can't go wrong either way.Full Review I originally gave this book a 5, but dropped it to a 4. On this re-read I up-rated [b:Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 5 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3) J.K. Rowling https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1499277281s/5.jpg 2402163] because it was better than I remember. This book didn't quite hold up. It's a high 4 though.Early on I was definite I wanted to drop it 4, but as I got closer to the end I was less sure. I'm still a little iffy on it. This is really a story of two halves. The first half is slow sometimes to the point of being tedious.I'm not sure if it was intentional or not. I certainly felt as frustrated as the characters at their lack of progress.The second half of the book is truly excellent. The first part is what spoils a 5 star for me though. I'm trying to be a bit more frugal with what I give 5 stars to, to give that rating a bit more meaning. Cover to Cover this book just wasn't as enjoyable to me as [b:Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 5 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3) J.K. Rowling https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1499277281s/5.jpg 2402163] or [b:Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 6 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4) J.K. Rowling https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1361482611s/6.jpg 3046572].That said, I love this book and I for one am happy with the ending. I have this perception that many(some?) people were upset at the epilogue. I've heard complaints that Ms. Rowling left nothing to the imagination.In some books that would bother me. For Harry Potter, it does not. I think if I had to imagine what would happen next, the Epilogue is exactly what I'd have wanted.