Shark Liver Oil

In the final part of our read-through of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, we continue to be blown away by the quality of what we’ve got to read. And it’s not just the writing - it’s the sheer chutzpah of McGonagall, kneecapping her own house in the cup competition. It’s the sheer insanity of Hogwarts’ detention policy, which somehow involves centaurs who can somehow click their hooves. And it’s the sheer, towering, sage, brilliant, father-figure punk trolling of Dumbledore, who will invest in decorations just to crush the dreams of a full quarter of the students in his care. What more could you ask for?   Well for a start you could ask for REVIEWS drawn from around the internet, and from our very own Sharklettes, on this light-footed masterpiece, which is good because WE’VE GOT ‘EM.     AND you could ask for the next book! We’ve enjoyed this so much that we’re rolling onwards, clicking our hooves, into Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, starting next week! More Hogwarts! More Potter! MORE SHARK!

In part 3 of our read-through of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, we have our first encounter with Quidditch and it's one for the ages. In Harry's second game the entire hopes of Gryffindor House rest once again on the shoulders of a first year student, the referee is literally out to get him and the backup seeker has gone AWOL. But come on lads...it's Hufflepuff. Also in this episode, Harry discovers an interesting mirror, Hogwarts' central heating packs in again and we find out that dragons exist. Promises to be a busy hour! If you'd like to get in touch email us at sharkliveroilpodcast@gmail.com or find us on twitter @sharkliveroil and on Facebook.

It’s part 2 of our read-through of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (or Sorceror’s Stone if you’re in America), and the magic continues! We discover some key information this time: Snape’s pre-game ritual, the secret baller life of Hufflepuff House, and the questionable quality of the Hogwarts Megabus, to name but a few.   We’ve got two episodes of this one left after this, so send in your thoughts and reviews of Harry Potter Book 1 so we can enjoy them in Episode 4: sharkliveroilpodcast@gmail.com, and @sharkliveroil on Twitter.   The amazing Mitchell and Webb on Hufflepuff here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9n9wswKMec

Welcome to the first part of our read through of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/ Sorcerer's Stone (depending on where you live). In this episode we meet Harry for the first time, gasp in awe as a middle aged drill-makng executive has a complete nervous breakdown and wonder whether lovely Hagrid really was the best man for the job of protecting the wizarding world's most important child. It's good to be back! Send us your reviews about Harry Potter Book 1 and we'll read them out on the podcast. You can reach us at: sharkliveroilpodcast@gmail.com or @sharkliveroil on twitter

Happy New Year! It might be a little late but you bet your ass that we recorded this in full festive mode on Christmas Eve. So sit back, relax and re-live an absolute Christmas classic as we take you through all the thrills, spills and suspected broken bones of that Christmas classic Home Alone! Merry Christmas, happy new year and have a brilliant 2020! 

It’s time for the Halloween spooky special! Every year we read one of literature’s great scary classics (except for when we do Goosebumps) and this year it’s a doozy - a readthrough and discussion of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher. As always we’ll be digging into the huge and important questions - was this the first ever haunted house? Why not just play Wonderwall? Is that really the best way of storing gunpowder? And perhaps above all, where did the armour come from?   As always, let us know what you think on Twitter @sharkliveroil, and by email at sharkliveroilpodcast@gmail.com.

In the fourth and final part of Lord of the Flies: Roger releases a boulder, Ralph runs for his life and Piggy takes a tumble. Will any of the boys get off the island alive? We've also got your reviews and thoughts on the book.    sharkliveroilpodcast@gmail.com is the place to get in touch if you want to add your thoughts to the mix.

We read the classics with a sideways view, and today we’re reading from ’Shadows and Tall Trees' to ‘A View to a Death’ in William Golding’s classic ‘Lord of the Flies’. We’ll level with you: it gets dark. And it’s a masterpiece.    As always, get in touch with your thoughts: @sharkliveroil on Twitter or sharkliveroilpodcast@gmail.com.

It's part 2 of our read through of The Lord Of The Flies by William Golding. Ralph discovers that being the only adult on an island of semi-feral children isn't much fun, Piggy loses a lens and Jack kills a pig. Oh, and we meet the breakout star of Lord of the Flies, littleun Phil. Who may or may not be bald. And may or may not be a tiny version of Phil Mitchell. And may or may not have seen a "bad slag" wandering about in the jungle. It's all getting a bit crazy.   If you're at such a loose end that you're reading the show notes, why not leave us a review on itunes? It'd really help. Or send your feedback to sharkliveroil@gmail.com and we'll read it out on the podcast.

It’s a new book! We read the classics, and take them as seriously as we can, and we’re reading William Golding’s classic The Lord of the Flies! This week we’ve got some killer tropical heat, some seriously poorly-thought-through playground tactics, and, somehow, choirboy stormtroopers. Is Sylvester Stallone coming to save the day? No. But come along for the ride! As always, get in touch @sharkliveroil or sharkliveroilpodcast@gmail.com.

It's been a long time coming but here it is, part two of our scene by scene review of The Lost World - the second film in the Jurassic Park series. Raptors go on the rampage on Isla Sorna and then a Tyrannosaur goes on the rampage in San Diego. The results of the latter are so horrific that the entire world slips into a state of mass amnesia so severe that nobody will even remember Isla Sorna exists by the time Jurassic World rolls around. But man... what a ride. Feedback? Send it to sharkliveroilpocast@gmail.com Roooaaaar!!!!

SOMETHING. HAS. SURVIVED. It’s part 1 of our watch-through of the second Jurassic Park movie, The Lost World, and we’ve got it all - Vince Vaughn trying to act principled, surprisingly respectful predator-prey relationships, and Pete Postlethwaite making it all seem someone else’s fault. Grab your whisky, explain the plot halfway through a chase sequence, and keep an eye out for flying cars: IT’S SEQUEL TIME. As always, get in touch with us - sharkliveroilpodcast@gmail.com and @sharkliveroil.

It's that time of year again. Time for ghosts and ghouls and the HALLOWEEN SPOOKY SPECIAL! This year we're going back to the goosebumps well, with RL Stine's The Cuckoo Clock of Doom. When one pathetic twelve year old is so hated by his own family that he resorts to casual antique vandalism to get his own back, he unleashes powers he never could have imagined. A chilling tale to pass this creepy evening.   sharkliveroilpodcast@gmail.com is the place to send your feedback.

It's the fifth and final part of our readthrough of Michael Crichton's The Lost World. It's an action packed finale with beloved and not so beloved characters meeting their end, a much lauded reappearence of Brian the Useless Raptor and Levine undergoes some kind of multiple personality disorder. And.... and... our favourite off-screen, definitely not in the book dinosaur makes an absolutely sensational last minute appearence (then wanders off). All that plus your fantastic reviews of the book. In the words of Doc Thorne, "Looks like we'll have to do this one the old fashioned way." Get in touch with us sharkliveroilpodcast@gmail.com or on twitter @sharlkiveroil

It is ALL GOING OFF this week in our read-through of Michael Crichton’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park. After the calm, the storm: and we’ve got it all. Over-confident scientists with circus-sized boomboxes, inevitable death, and at least one genius engineering career cut off far too soon. And this week, a special bonus: Matt and Dave have a heart to heart about cows and how they’re scarier than they look. Real talk here on Shark Liver Oil. Next week it’s our final installment of our read-through, and IT’S TIME FOR THE REVIEWS! We’ve got a great batch so far but if you’ve got some that you’d like us to read out, send them through to sharkliveroilpodcast@gmail.com or @sharkliveroil.

Part 3 of our readthrough of The Lost World is here. I'm not going to lie to you, not a lot happens in this part of the book. Lots of talk about dinosaurs becoming extinct, there's another possible sighting of Tobias Carnotaurus and Bisoyn's best boy dabbled with a bit of casual attempted murder. Oh and some Parasaurs defecate together. It's fair to say it slows down a bit this week, but stick with us, because things are about to get crazy. sharkliveroilpodcast@gmail.com

We’re back with part 2 of our readthrough with dumb commentary on Michael Crichton’s sequel to Jurassic Park, The Lost World! And we’ve got, as ever, everything on the pitch: a burgeoning bromance between Dave and a fictional character, questionable risk-management decisions, and above all, DINOSAURS (finally). As always, hit us up with your reviews, opinions and rants, in time for our review episode at the end of the series in a few weeks. @sharkliveroil on Twitter, and sharkliveroilpodcast@gmail.com.

Welcome to the edge of chaos. Welcome to the island where dinosaurs roam free. Welcome.. to The Lost World! We're finally returning to Matt's favourite subject - dinosaurs - with Michael Crichton's follow up to Jurassic Park. In this episode we meet the world's most annoying dinosaur fanatic, the worlds most lazy private detective and the worlds most dreadful magazine idea. We also just about reach the island full of dinosaurs. If you're reading along with us go as far as page 80(ish) - Costa Rrrrica! If you've any feedback on the book or the podcast sent it to sharkliveroilpodcast@gmail.com or find us on twitter @sharkliveroil

This time we’re looking at the different adaptations of The War of the Worlds - from 70s prog-rock operas to surprisingly groundbreaking 50s special effects (which still look crap), all the way through Tom Cruise being horrible to Andy Dufresne and some…weirdly appropriate public sculpture decisions, from the town council of (where else) Woking. As always, hit us up on Twitter @sharkliveroil and via email, sharkliveroilpodcast@gmail.com with your thoughts, and suggestions for the next book we should do!

It's the fifth and final part of our read through of The War of The Worlds by HG Wells! If you haven't read to the end of the book then you better watch out as we are now entering heat ray grade spoiler territory. In which the martians finally get what's coming to them, the Earth (well, London) rejoices and the brave old narrator finally gets back with his wife. The martians then appear to be off to try their luck on gale force wind and sulphuric acid infested Venus. Good luck with that you slippery leathery bastards. Also, your reviews of the book. We'll be back with a special bonus podcast next week when we look at the other media (music, films etc) that the book has spawned. sharkliveroilpodcast@gmail.com @sharkliveroil are the ways to get in touch. Find our full list of podcasts and books at sharkliveroil.co