This is the kind of movie that doesn’t stand up well on its own as a movie, but if you read (and enjoyed) the novel, you will probably enjoy the movie. I loved the novel, and while there are certain things I imagined differently, the movie was very faithful.

Somebody else compared James Rollins to Dan Brown, and I must agree. Dan Brown and Michael Crichton books are guilty pleasures of mine, and I found this book falls nicely into that niche. There is interesting what-if science and history and a decent explanation of things I’d probably never find interesting otherwise. For that reason, I’d recommend it.

On the other hand, two things bothered me. For about the first 300 pages, everything went wrong to the extreme. Then, for the last 220 pages, everything went right. It took some of the surprise out of all but about 80 pages (40 at the beginning and another 40 after the shift). I could guess what would happen by where it was in the book.

And second, Mr. Rollins used a lot of one sentence paragraphs.

A lot.

I mean, a whole lot.

And in strings.

So it wasn’t life-changing, but it was enjoyable.

Tonight, I finished You Can Negotiate Anything. I recommend reading the book for its countless minor lessons, but the two major lessons for me were:

(1) Everything that is produced by negotiation is subject to negotiation. Just because the store puts a sign up doesn’t mean you (or they) have to abide by it. The person with whom you’re dealing decides whether to do what you want—not the sign. So don’t be afraid to ask.

(2) Find the real problem. A lot of times when we’re negotiating, we think it’s just a matter of whose number wins, but it’s really a lot more complicated than that. Different people have different needs, and meeting both parties’ needs doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive.

At 255 pages, it’s not a terribly long book, and it reads pretty quickly. Cohen writes with wit and the lessons you learn make the time invested worth it.

This was a pretty entertaining movie, but it probably won’t change your life. There were a few parts that should have been dramatic that just fell flat. But I did love this line by Jennifer Aniston’s character:

I didn’t come here to tell you I can’t live without you. I can. But I don’t want to.

That’s how you know it’s real. When the initial euphoria has worn off and you still want to be around.

I’ve probably seen this movie 100 times since 2d grade, and I still love it. This is one of those movies that you find something new every time you watch it.

Will Smith is one of my favorite actors and one of the best actors of our generation. I Am Legend should be added to his proud shelf. He plays a military virologist trying to discover the cure for a cancer vaccine that ran amok and killed about 5 1/2 billion people and turned most of the rest into “dark seekers.” Now, he seems to be the last surviving regular human, with only his daughter’s dog as a companion—but even that isn’t guaranteed forever.

Some critics have said that the monsters just aren’t scary enough, but I say that the real monster is the isolation. This is more than just another “will science go too far” movie—this is a movie about six months after we’ve gone too far.

This is one of the funnest books I’ve ever read. I loved every paragraph.

Don’t laugh, but this book has some of the most beautiful passages I’ve ever read. I would seriously be sitting there during my lunch break and nearly be in tears from some of the passages.

This is the most satisfying film I have ever seen. Scary at times, but deeply satisfying.

Plus it will make a particular scene toward the end of Austin Powers 2 hilarious.

Satisfaction guaranteed. This may be the most satisfying book I’ve ever read. Although it’s long (about 450 pages), the end is perfectly fulfilling. The only other time I’ve experienced this kind of satisfaction after consuming any fiction is when I saw The Exorcist.