Stephen Fry

Welcome to Listening Books', 'Ask the Author' with Stephen Fry, where we put your questions to our wonderful patron Stephen Fry.
We asked members and followers of Listening Books what they would ask Stephen if they could ask him anything. Here are just a selection of the best questions. Hear Stephen talk about narrating Harry Potter, his favourite word and all things writing and books!
Questions are:
Do you have a favourite word? (00:23)
Who would you cast as Jeeves and Wooster for a new series? (00:18)
Is the word hopefully grammatically correct? (02:32)
Now we are older, does our response to bullying have to change? (04:17)
Do you think antidepresents dull creativity? (06:52)
What has made you happiest in the past month? (08:33)
Do you plan what to write in advance? (10:06)
What's the first book that really left a mark? (13:14)
Was it more difficult to read the later Harry Potter books after they became a worldwide phenomenon? (15:53)
What was the hardest part about narrating the Harry Potter audiobooks? (19:36)
If you could time travel and meet an author in their own time, who would you choose and why? (21:35)
Is there any hope for an expanded or second volume of Mythos? (24:00)
Do you enjoy performing audiobooks? (25:46)
Huge thanks to Stephen for taking part. If you like the video please give us a thumbs up and subscribe, as we will be publishing more 'Ask the Author' videos straight to this channel. Also follow us on social media to see who we will be talking to next, it could be your questions that get chosen!
You can find out more about Listening Books on our:
Website: www.listening-books.org.uk
Facebook page: / listeningbooks12
Twitter: / listeningbooks
Blog: www.listening-books.org.uk/blog
Instagram: / listeningbooks
To find out more about Stephen Fry visit: www.stephenfry.com
If you or someone you know struggles to read the printed word then get in touch!

[@labradormcgraw]

Stephen Fry is a true national treasure. We are so lucky to have him. We all need people like Stephen in the world.

[@ArtemisShanks]

He might be my favorite person on Earth.

[@benwood4416]

Might??

[@thefub101]

Might?

[@ramudon2428]

Stephen Fry is my favourite person.

[@DizzNutt93]

His description of the book "melting away" and the reader being "inside the story" is absolutely perfect.

Stephen and Hugh. One of those bromances that existed ages before the term was coined.

[@emsee1138]

STEPHEN FRY! I LOVE YOU! Just an fyi - I type your name into my youtube seach and go to sleep listening to your words of wisdom, subtle humor, and soooothing voice! Hope you are feeling well. You are an AMAZING human. Can’t wait to read your latest book! 😘😘😘 Love, Maureen

[@fatemehazinfar9249]

J. I do agree that Stephen Fry is a tremendous treat...

[@user-wc7em8kf9d]

When you're interviewed I just sit and try to learn as much as I can: you're just Brilliant. Thank you for giving so much to the world, Stephen.

[@chrisfox2890]

An adorable man. Have admired him since about 1989. Nice to see him so happy and relaxed.

[@hollyb6885]

Stephen is so interesting. I love listening to him.

[@theculturedbumpkin]

Mr Fry is an amazing man, this is outstanding

[@fernadams1115]

Thank you so much for answering my questions! 😃

[@Panzerkita61]

Thank Mr. Fry for being you!

[@davidevans3227]

i love the audio jeeves and Wooster with Michael horden and Richard briers.. absolute top notch.. brilliantly done

[@davidevans3227]

i am full of hope that others discover the audio i mentioned

[@suehall6831]

What a fascinating man he is , I could listen to him for hours

[@susanamal7418]

Thanks and always have watch you in many things but especially loved QI, pleased your here too.

[@LunaGem98]

Always love hearing Stephen talk, he kind of draws you in when he speaks with his vocabulary and of course his voice is amazing

[@2msvalkyrie529]

Yeah . Most things - even the most basic observations - sound brilliant when said in a Posh accent ! Fact of Life ! !

[@Nordern]

Man i love Stephen, he is always so well spoken, very interesting to listen to thank you!

[@ListeningBooks]

We love him too. Thanks for the like

[@mesquitegirl2013]

I couldnt agree more

[@Nicole-fp9cy]

Help,

[@Nicole-fp9cy]

Pentax

[@stephaniedejesus5704]

Thanks for being my best friend all through college even if you didn't know it😂 Honestly, I don't know what I would have done had your many docuseries and books not been there to keep me in very good company.

[@chanilastname7217]

Where would we be without Mr. Fry.

[@natgarrison2300]

Wonderful man! Lots of love from France!!

[@labradormcgraw]

I agree: 'trundle' is a great word.

[@johndaarteest]

It's a very woody word. Not tinny at all.

[@chelli6555]

This is a really good video. Both for people who love Stephen Fry and for aspiring author.

[@philiphalpenny9761]

Imagine Stephen Fry interviewing Orson Welles!

[@michaelhoffmann2891]

Weirdly enough, I'm going through Fry's mythology books backwards. I started with the brand new (at the time of writing this) Troy, almost done with Heroes. So Mythos will be the next. I'm hoping there will be a full Odysee and Anaeid coming up! With Stephen reading his own books, it's arguably better than the print version. Apart from the fact that I sometimes laughed so hard, I nearly veered off the road while driving! 😲

[@theculturedbumpkin]

That series is amazing! Brilliantly written and narrated.

[@monsterlair]

I don't know that i've ever laughed more at a simple "no." XD

[@veronikap.7081]

I LOVE your name! 😂

[@monsterlair]

@@veronikap.7081 Thank you. It's a very obscure reference to Doctor Who, actually. =)

[@davidevans3227]

audiobooks really help me.. always looking for more with excellent readers

[@veronikap.7081]

Thank you so much for giving my question to Stephen! 😍 And what a wonderful idea this is! And a very lovely atmosphere in the video 😍

[@Richard_is_cool]

Which question was that? Always happy to find other Czech people being into Mr. Fry :).

[@veronikap.7081]

@@Richard_is_cool Dobré dopoledne! ☺ Otázka č. 6, časově 8:33 😊 Je moc moc milé, že jste napsal, nepamatuji si, že bych kdy zaznamenala někoho z ČR v komentářích...všechno píšeme v Aj a jména často nicneříkající - nebývá jednoduché rozpoznat krajana 😂

[@Richard_is_cool]

@@veronikap.7081 Jo, holt mám takové anglicky znějící křestní jméno :). Stephen Fry je legenda, ujíždím na něm často (popř. i na duu Mitchell a Webb :) ).

[@veronikap.7081]

@@Richard_is_cool Naprostá pravda, narozdíl od mého příjmení :D Jsem v prváku na medicíně a nespočítala bych, kolik nocí nad učením mi zpříjemnily jenom všechny 3 jeho autobiografie...navíc je to famózní kurz Aj :D A pro změnu duo Smith&Jones a Not the 9'clock News s Atkinsonem, samozřejmě Blackadder, občas trocha Eddieho Izzarda, samozřejmě hodně QI, kde se vystřídala spousta skvělých komiků - a nemohla bych si přát lepší pobavení

[@Richard_is_cool]

@@veronikap.7081 S tou Amerikou to cítím trochu podobně, i když vidím tam jednu vyjímku: Key and Peele. Máte pravdu, Fry je v Černé zmiji extrémně dobrý, až absurdně neuvěřitelný (a zároveň uvěřitelný). K anglickým komikům bych ještě přidal někoho, o kom si myslím, že je nejspíš "nástupcem" Stephena Fry (a možná to tak vidí i on sám), Davida Mitchella. Někteří mí kamarádi studují medicínu též, čili z doslechu tuším, jak náročné to je. Fry je prostě skvělý - má v sobě jistou lidskost a pozitivitu, zároveň však i moudrost.

[@nikoszikos8025]

Thank you Stephen for loving humanity

[@eluna34]

I have been waiting for this for ages!!!!!!!

[@sQuishmo33]

Wonderful!

[@billyb6001]

Excellent

[@markussixtenstam105]

Stephen fry i respect He is one of my favorite actors

[@davidevans3227]

does he still do acting in tv and films?

[@alisonmcshannon1196]

I have enormous difficulty saying "I edited it" 😳🤣🤣🤣

[@peterlistuder3058]

oh and found that language book of yours. will read it quite thorohly

[@Nicole-fp9cy]

You have surely read Angela's Ashes, I loved the fact that it was such an easy read, there was no he said, she said, No Punctuation.

[@Marunchak]

When Stephen talks about creative people who are on medication for mental problems "fearing Zombification", and losing their mental edge, I had to wonder why those same people don't have the same fears when using drugs recreationally.

[@Nicole-fp9cy]

I have tried to have hero's but eventually, I got so tired, I thaught it would be easier to be my own hero,.

[@Nicole-fp9cy]

Now that I can ask u a question, I'm at a loss for words Bugger!!

[@sheilac5319]

Here are my belated questions for Mr Fry: Dear Most Marvelous Myth Mentor: - How old were you when you realized you had grown too tall to fit fully into the bathtub and would no longer be able to enjoy a hot soak on a cold day without some part of you remaining cold-and what effect if any did this milestone have on your emotional development? - How do you personally pronounce the word "forsythia"? - How shall we feel about pied bagpipers going forward (at the height of hurricane season, I might add)? Are we always to regard them with suspicion when the music is just that good? - Who do we think had the easier menopausal transition-Medusa or Pandora? So much love, An appallingly slow Canadian reader

[@davidevans3227]

enjoyed the hitchhikers guide.. why hasn't he done the other two!? restaurant at the end of the universe.. And so long and thanks for all the fish..??!?

[@inamorata966]

I don't have a favorite word, but my late brother had what was, for him, the most unpleasant word: MOIST. He never said why.

[@inamorata966]

Yes. I asked. He didn't know.

[@Nicole-fp9cy]

Mr Fry, Whats the most beautiful sounding words . According to experts ?

[@mesquitegirl2013]

[@swatir2190]

I want his voice to be the last thing I hear. I love him.

[@castelodeossos3947]

It would be nice for a change if someone said: 'No, I don't have a favourite word.' Excellent point about not dramatizing the reading (18:22). Too many actors are asked to read and then 'act' the text, which ruins it. Dramatised readings of TSEliot, for example, detract from the poetry, which is why, TSEliot himself never did it. Making a joke and then adding 'Joking, of course' (2:30) is not only patronising but ruins the joke. A common enough Americanism adopted now in Britain.

[@Nicole-fp9cy]

What is the mist beautiful sounding word, according to experts ?

[@Nicole-fp9cy]

Why do you never refer to Dorian Grey when to speak of Oscar Wilde book's?

[@Nicole-fp9cy]

Last question, I am trying to write a privacy policy that includes biometrics, and I, in all honesty cannot find a any way to make one sound truthful

[@Nicole-fp9cy]

I have a children's story I would live your opinion with, Would you give me an honest opinion, And how do I get it to you ?

[@Petra44YT]

Thank you for NOT giving the characters accent and such. That would definitely have been a mistake! It's good as it is now. :-)

[@43painter]

Now thats a coincedence! I also won ten billion dollars at the lottery. I gave it al to Bill Gates, George Soroz and Jeff Besoz, because they 're have SUCH a HARD time during this devastating pandemic! ;-)

[@Nicole-fp9cy]

Mr Fry are you receiving my comments

[@benwood4416]

Hi, it is extremely unlikely that Stephen would see your comments on this video as this isn't a channel he has direct involvement with. If you desperately want to try and contact him I'd suggest using his Twitter

[@jackmallory7996]

斯蒂芬-弗莱有时间做这么多不同的事情，我怀疑他有四五个相同的版本，而不是只有一个。他说他是个无神论者，但他似乎和上帝一样无所不知。

[@davidevans3227]

that made me laugh (after it was translated) 🙂 thankyou

[@Nicole-fp9cy]

What is your favourite Opera?

[@davidevans3227]

Eugene Onegin

[@wapakelps5879]

Trundle, I see a troll for some reason

[@jessica5497]

Why I just see this video now? Wtf KZbin

[@2msvalkyrie529]

Ask The Author : Why are you such a pratt...?

[@TheClassicWorld]

You just sounded like Alan Moore. Stop it. It's strange! Hhaa.

[@Nicole-fp9cy]

I read in the paper, news, that there is a great deal of Austerity in South Africa, I think the People who are in the depths of Austerity don't know what it even means, it sounds hopeful, but the sad truth is, horrid.

[@DEWwords]

He can't stand up a little bit for J. K. Rowling, and reality? He's certainly courageous.

[@DEWwords]

WTF? there's a question, Stephen. ---Or, do you now believe in water into wine and men into women?

[@Nicole-fp9cy]

Can you teach an old dog new tricks.

[@davidevans3227]

yes

[@Nicole-fp9cy]

I don't mean to sound vain, sorry.

[@josmith8205]

Arise Sir Fry