The Millionaire Next Door

By Thomas J, Stanley and William D. Danko, 1996

You should know

Many of the personal finance blogs I read have spoken highly of this book, so it went on my reading list.

So?

It wasn't entirely what I expected. The authors conducted a massive study of households that are wealthy according to their formula: those who have a net worth equaling their annual income multiplied by one-tenth their age.

They then compared the trends among these individuals, and compared them to individuals who have high incomes but very low net worths. The wealthy tend to be more interested in frugality, and less interested in conspicuous consumerism, often to the point where only people with access to their finances even know they are wealthy.

But, as I said, it wasn't quite what I expected. At one point, the authors display a chart of what the wealthy, versus apparently wealthy consumers, fear. There was plenty of insight as to why the non-savers fear certain things more than the savers. However, there were certain thing the savers feared more, and no word on why.

There is also a good description of why entrepreneurs are more likely to be wealthy, according the definition in this book, than people with high-income, high-status jobs like doctors and lawyers. Entrepreneurs are likely to go on living the way they did before they amass their wealth. People in high-status jobs, by contrast, feel pressure to look high-status. They fear that if they look less financially successful, their potential clients will suspect that they are unsuccessful due to incompetence, and not hire them.

Definitely don't consider it a how-to book. It's much more on the inspirational side, explaining what these millionaires are like but not giving much in the way of instructions on how to become one. If you see yourself on one side of the equation or the other, it may give you a kick in the right direction, but it's no road map.

Worth a read
While I didn't get much practical information out of it, I did enjoy the case studies and the patterns they revealed. If you need a reminder that wealth and shiny things don't necessarily go hand-in-hand, it's a good read.

The rest of the Internet

JD at Get Rich Slowly actually has one of these millionaires next door.
The New York Times review.
The Wikipedia entry.
The book on LibraryThing.
A good summary of the book's main points at MSN.

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• The Millionaire Next Door (nickwagman.blogspot.com)

The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass
By Philip Pullman, 1997 and 2000, paperback

You should know
I've read The Golden Compass and seen the movie. I borrowed the single-volume trilogy from Dan.

So?
The Subtle Knife opens with Will, a boy from a different universe than Lyra, trying to protect his not-entirely-there mother from some intruders into their home. After accidentally killing one of these men, Will leaves his mother in the safekeeping of a friendly neighbor before accidentally finding an alternate world - where he meets Lyra.

Where Lyra is special because of her rare ability to read the alethiometer, Will is chosen by a knife to be its bearer, enabling him to cut the fabric between universes, allowing Will to see Lyra's world, and the two of them to visit new worlds together.

While in Will's world, the two meet Mary Malone, a physicist and former nun who is studying Dust, the strange particle that runs the alethiometer and clings to adults while eschewing children, and which has driven Lyra's parents to the point of obsession.

By The Amber Spyglass, Lyra and Will have their mission: to reach the underworld and rescue their deceased loved ones. Meanwhile, Mary is spending time in yet another universe, making friends among a society of wheeled quadrupeds. She manages to craft an tool - the titular spyglass - that enables her to see Dust, and thus to save her friends from a Dust-related plague that is killing off their most important crop.

If you read the above paragraph, you'll notice I said "by" The Amber Spyglass, not "in" The Amber Spyglass. While The Golden Compass stands very well on its own (though the second and third books fill in quite a few gaps in the plot), The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass flow together, reading more like a single story than two parts of a whole.

Overall, I found the second and third parts of the trilogy to be much darker, and much more in-depth, than the first - but less charming. The Golden Compass might pass as a children's book - barely - but the trilogy as a whole does not. I always advise parents to read the book and make the call (some kids can handle this stuff, but I have no idea if yours can), but my general advice is to maybe wait a few years between giving them book one and following up with book two.

Rating
Read it...
...But if you haven't read The Golden Compass yet, just spring for the trilogy and read them all at once.

The rest of the Internet
Warning: Possible Spoilers
Pullman displays his illustrations from the chapter headings of the books.
His Dark Materials, an unofficial fansite.
Nick Gevers at infinity plus reviews The Subtle Knife.
Rachel Pastan at Salon is amazed the The Subtle Knife is marketed to children.
Need help? SparkNotes will walk you through the trilogy.
The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass, and the His Dark Materials Trilogy on LibraryThing.
Michael Dirda at washingtonpost.com reviews The Amber Spyglass in the context of the trilogy as a whole.
Polly Shulman at Salon.com found herself far less disappointed with The Amber Spyglass than she expected to be.
David K. Kyle at The Candid Truth reviews The Amber Spyglass, and engages in a very interesting debate about the theological implications in his comments section.
Thomas M. Wagner at SFReviews.net considers The Amber Spyglass to be a worthy conclusion to the trilogy.

Awesome link of the week
Ryan Bliss at Digital Blasphemy is an artist who makes wallpaper for your desktop. His designs feature planets, seascapes, pools of water... all created using his imagination and his computer. I currently have Cloud Canyon on my desktop at work, and people keep asking me where I took that picture. Heh.

Most of the images at Digital Blasphemy are only available to paid members (this is how he makes a living, after all), but there's a constantly rotating selection of free content available as well. I'm perfectly happy with the free pieces, myself, but I've been toying with the idea of joining up -- look through the gallery and see if you're tempted, too.

Neverwhere: A Novel

2003, by Neil Gaiman, paperback

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

1990, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, paperback, from the library

Making Money

2007, by Terry Pratchett, hardback, from the library

You should know

Bit by bit, I’m trying to increase my geek cred.

So?

Fantasy, satire, subtle cultural references, and British humor packaged for export. Yeah, I’m a fan. It’s taken me a while to get into the works of these two authors, but I’m chipping away at their works. When I got a chance to get my hands on a copy of Good Omens, I was in.

From the top: Neverwhere is the story of a normal, unremarkable man who wakes up in a fascinating world of London Below, that he had never noticed. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, his primary goal is getting back to his normal life. Meanwhile, he has to help a young lady named Door protect herself and find out what happened to her slain family. Good guys, bad guys, and morally ambiguous guys add excitement to their quest.

Good Omens is about the end of the world. At least, it’s supposed to be. An angel, a demon, and the Antichrist are all too human for the good of the Almighty’s Plan, so nothing happens quite the way it’s supposed to – or does it? That depends on whether you can interpret the titular prophesies, as a young witch and clueless witch hunter attempt to do.

Making Money is the sequel to Going Postal, featuring the return of semi-reformed con man Moist von Lipwig. Having successfully revitalized the Post Office by inventing postage stamps, Moist is now faced with the charge of saving the Bank – which he sets out to do by inventing paper money and going off the gold standard. He also has to negotiate with necromancers and save Golems while protecting himself from a spoiled, wealthy family, one of whose members is convinced he’s turning into Lord Vetinari.

Good times.

Rating

Check them out
Now, if you find you don’t like either Gaiman or Pratchett, of course you’ll want to avoid these novels; they are good examples of each author’s style. And Making Money might be easier to follow if you read Going Postal first. But overall, all three of these books were good, entertaining reads that I’m happy to recommend.

The rest of the Internet

The Wikipedia page for Neverwhere.
Neil Gaiman’s website.
A review at CNN.com.
A Neverwherereading guide from HarperCollins.
More Neverwhere questions at BookBlog.
A positive review from Heather at Beside the Norm.
The Good Omens Wikipedia page.
The Good Omens Lexicon is a guide to all the characters, places, and objects in the novel.
Good Omens in under a minute.
Philip Carlsson at Wonderful Comics analyzes Good Omens.
What character from Good Omens are you? (I'm Aziraphale)
Macshaggy at Shaggy Logic was not thrilled with Good Omens.
An enthusiastic review of Good Omens at Wanderlust.
Crawley and Aziraphale's New Year's Resolutions.
The Making Money Wikipedia page.
Corey Doctorow at Boing Boing reviews Making Money.
The Wikipedia pages for Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.
If you haven't already heard: the recent bad news about Pratchett (open note to Matt: here's a chance to bone up on a Great while he's still producing).

Awesome link of the week

The Daily Puppy has become my go-to site at the end of the day. Each day, the site features a series of photos of an adorable puppy – many different breeds are represented, as are designer mixes and proper mutts. Chris has repeatedly expressed his desire to steal Savannah Mae, although I have to admit to a bias towards Elton and Peanut. If it's been a rough day, nothing cheers you up like a puppy.

Cover via Amazon

Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began

1992, by Art Spiegelman, from the library

You should know

Ever since I read the first volume of Maus, I’ve wanted to read the sequel – and more than one person has recommended I do so.

So?

Speigelman continues to tell – and draw – the story of his Holocaust-survivor father, Vladek. The older man is ornery and not in the best of health; in the process of gathering the story, Spiegelman (or at least the “Artie” character based on the author) must balance his father’s needs and wants, his stepmother’s troubles and concerns, and the needs of his own young family.
This half of the story opens when Artie and his wife (a French convert to Judaism who remarks on her own anthropomorphization) are called away from their vacation to visit Vladek, who just had a heart attack – or so the younger Spiegelmans are told. In fact, Artie’s stepmother Mala has left Vladek – and here troubles of a less life-threatening sort being.
The beginning of the flashbacks parallels this – Vladek is separated from his first wife, Anja, Artie’s mother, when they arrive at Auschwitz. Vladek keeps himself going by devising ways to keep in touch with Anja, which involves making trades with a Polish kapo – English lessons for supplies and help. In the present, Vladek takes frugality to extremes, returning used food as “damaged,” and making nasty comments about his African-American neighbors. Artie feels like nothing he does is ever good enough, that amazing success in the contemporary world is nothing compared to Vladek just surviving as long as he has, and Vladek doesn’t do much to contradict those feelings.
The artwork is consistent with that of the first volume; the characters, drawn as animals (Jews are portrayed as mice, Poles pigs, Germans cats, Americans dogs, and French frogs), are just alien enough to make the horror bearable to the reader. Far more familiar is Artie’s frustration – he just doesn’t know what to do with his father, whose phenomenal survival skills translate to something a bit more obnoxious in late-20th-century America. The past and present converge again when the book ends – Vladek survives the camps, and Artie survives the telling, both scarred but strong.

Rating

Read it
But only once you’ve read the first part. Better yet, if you haven’t read either volume, get your hands on the boxed set, and read both as one whole work.

The rest of the Internet

The Wikipedia entry discusses the animal characters at length.

Mark Morris
By Joan Acocella, 1993

You should know
This is another one I had to read for class. I stopped taking dance class when I was 9, and that’s about the extent of my knowledge of the dance world.

So?
This is the biography of Mark Morris, a prominent modern dance performer/choreographer. I was not expecting to enjoy it. In fact, I wasn’t really expecting to understand it.

I was pleasantly surprised. The reader learns about Morris's childhood, his literally lifelong association with dance, and how the two have shaped his work. We learn about his family, his first teachers, and his early relationships. We also learn about the dances he was choreographing in his young teens. While dance fans will definitely enjoy this, the book is more for biography readers than dancers. Important terms, people, and trends are explained, which is a huge help, and keeps the technical stuff from getting in the way of the narrative.

In the end, I don’t know if Morris is someone I’d much like to go drinking with, but I find him a sympathetic character, and I’m actually interested in seeing some of his work, even though the basic descriptions don’t really sound like my kind of thing.

Rating
Read it if…
…You like biographies or the arts. Otherwise, you probably just won’t care.

The rest of the Internet
The Mark Morris Dance Group.
Morris's Wikipedia page.
A Salon article on Morris.
Morris is featured in a podcast.
Wendy Lesser at The Threepenny Review considers Morris, Sontag, and camp.
A review from Dance Magazine.

The Golden Compass: His Dark Materials, Book 1
By Philip Pullman, 1997

You should know
I really didn’t set off to buy this book. I had a coupon for 25% off one item of $10 or more – so I wanted to find an interesting-looking book that was as close to $10 as possible without going under. What can I say? I had fallen hard on the ice twice in two days. I wanted a book and a beer.

So?
It took me a little bit to get into it: Lyra and her closest friends tend to use terrible grammar.

Anyway. Lyra is a young girl raised in a prominent British university in a parallel universe. Odds are, that description will either intrigue you or turn you off. If it’s the latter, I can tell you right now, you won’t enjoy this book.

I, however, belong to the former group.

As children in Lyra’s community disappear, Lyra begins to learn more about her parents’ identities and her own place in the world. She is given an alethiometer – the title object – and begins an adventure that allies her with witches, nomads, talking bears, and Texans. In the process, she learns about the mysterious, controversial Dust, and just what it has to do with the missing children.

Rating
Read it if…
…My description sounds remotely interesting. If it doesn’t, though, you’re right in not bothering.

The rest of the Internet
It’s coming to theaters this December.
A review of the book at Epiphyte.
A fansite for the trilogy.
The LibraryThing page.
David Louis Edelman was disappointed by the trilogy.
Sega unveils the video game.
Philip Pullman's website.

The Silent Woman: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes

By Janet Malcolm, 1993

You should know

I first read Ariel as an undergrad. I later bought the Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath. Then, I was assigned The Silent Woman for a grad school class.

So?

There’s a question in this book: is the silent woman of the title Plath, or Plath’s sister-in-law, Olwyn Hughes? Hughes is the executrix of Plath’s estate, and her brother is often blamed by fans as the cause of Plath’s death. A tangled web, yes?

Malcolm goes on a sort of quest to find out more about the real relationship between Plath, Ted Hughes, and Olwyn Hughes. Different memoirs tell different stories, and while authorized biographers had to clear things with the Hugheses, unauthorized ones had little to no access to crucial documents. Even though Malcolm says what side she’s on, it’s hard to tell if she means it. After all, Malcolm is a journalist who hates journalism, a biographer who mistrusts biographies.

I’m not one of Malcolm’s biggest fans, but her story of digging up the truth – or, perhaps, a truth, which is kind of the point – is an intriguing one. Still, I was looking forward to hearing more about the Plath-Hughes family, and didn’t really learn much, so the book was a bit of a letdown to me.

Rating

Read it if…
…You’re a fan of Malcolm, Hughes, or Plath, and have read any of their work and/or biographies of any of them. Also, if you enjoy biographies and want to know more about how they’re put together, you might want to check it out.

The rest of the Internet

The LibraryThing entry.
Wikipedia on Janet Malcolm.
A Time Magazinearticle on Malcolm and the book.
Guy Frowny reviews the book.
LK at The Literate Kitten outlines must-reads for the Plath fan.

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Cover via Amazon

A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings

By George R.R. Martin, 1997 and 2000, paperback

You should know

I like science fiction and fantasy novels. I also like good deals.

See, the first book I picked out because I was looking for a book that wouldn’t move too fast (I can finish a novel in a day, given a chance) but also wouldn’t involve too much thought. A Game of Thrones looked like a good pick, and was.

As for A Clash of Kings, I was at the bookstore trying to decide what to do with some store credit I’d saved up. I had narrowed my choices down to three books, and decided that, all things being equal, I’d go with the highest page count.

I scored almost 1000 pages for under a buck. But that’s neither here nor there.

So?

These two books are the first in the Song of Ice and Fire series, still in progress.
 Cover via Amazon
A Game of Thrones introduces the reader to the main characters (particularly the Lannister, Stark, and Targaryen families) and the conflicts between them; A Clash of Kings then shows the conflict escalating into full-blown war. This way, in addition to having a solid story in each book, the books together have set up what appears to be a solid narrative arc.

As for the plot, I’m going to keep this as spoiler-free as possible, so let me set the stage for the opening of the first book: King Robert has won the throne from the previous king, a tyrant; Princess Daenerys is dreaming of returning to the home Robert took from her family; and Lord Stark, Robert’s old friend, is ruling the North with a just hand and raising four children and a foster son. Enter the Lannisters, Robert’s less-than-virtuous in-laws, and the Night’s Watch, who defend the Seven Kingdoms from the mystical Others. Politics, intrigue, battle, and espionage ensue.

The point of view shifts from chapter to chapter, allowing the reader to follow the story from the perspectives of various characters, from small children to lords and knights. However, the narrative voice never dives into the first person, so the perspective shifts don’t disrupt the more-or-less consistent narrative voice – this isn’t a Baby-Sitters Club Super Special or anything.

I really enjoyed these books. This should be evident from the fact that I went out and bought the second after having read the first; I intend to continue reading this series. As it turns out, my initial judgment of the books were correct: while they do not move quickly (they are long), they are also not especially heavy, at least in terms of plot. If you don’t mind bringing a fantasy novel down the shore, these will make good beach reading, and should last the whole vacation; if you don’t want to wait until summer, a comfy chair, warm blanket, and hot cup of tea will work just as well.

Rating

Check it out.
Now, these stories may not be your thing. That’s fine; I would actually recommend staying away if you’re not fond of the genre. But if any element I’ve described sounds appealing to you, I highly recommend these books – preferably in order.

The rest of the Internet

Spoilers ahead...
George R. R. Martin’s official website.
The Wikipedia page for the series and author.
Westeros.org, a fansite.
The A Game of Thrones card game.
A less favorable review of A Game of Thrones, and a more enthusiastic one.
A nice review of A Clash of Kings, and a very positive one.
HBO is optioning the series.

Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk

By Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
1997, Paperback

You should know

I’m not much of a punk fan. I had to read this book for class – and I’m glad I did, especially since the authors came to class to talk about the book. They signed my copy (Legs’s dedication was crude; Gillian’s was an act of verbal eye-rolling), and Legs asked me why the Amish are so angry (…yeah, I got nothing).

Oh, and Legs McNeil was one of the founders of Punk magazine, and thus was instrumental in naming the movement. That’s some good trivia, there.

Some of the links in this review are less than safe for work – but then, they concern a book about punk music. The people, the songs, and the book all use language and make references you probably don’t want your boss reading over your shoulder, so you shouldn’t expect the web sites to be any different.

So?

I have no doubt it helps to know who 90% of these people are going in, rather than the maybe 15% I was familiar with. There’s no context provided that isn’t provided by a main character – the whole point of oral history is that it’s told by the people who were there, and those who heard about it.

There is an index of major players, though, which is immensely helpful if you don’t mind referring to it every half-dozen pages or so. Just make sure you have the most recent edition: apparently, the first edition has several errors, including but not limited to listing death dates for people still very much alive.

The book jumps in cold with an interview with Lou Reed. As I said, there’s no context provided, so you have to keep up – though most of the most confusing things in the narrative are explained within a few pages by someone else. You may have to force yourself through the first few pages to get yourself used to the format, but once you get into it, it’s actually a very interesting little book.

One point I found particularly interesting was the objective look at the lifestyle. Yes, the sex-and-drugs aspect was glorified, but the more horrifying consequences were not played down, either. It was awesome and it destroyed people, the book – or rather, its subjects, who ought to know – seems to say.

Rating

Read it if…
--You love punk.
--You enjoy nonfiction or history.
--You mourn CBGB, either having been there or having missed the chance.

I enjoyed this book, but I can tell not everyone will. Still, give it a chance even if you don’t fit into those three groups.

The rest of the Internet

A great review at NY Rock.com.
Helen Wilson at Glorious Noise wrote up a great interview with Legs McNeil.
Ika Johannesson at The Agenda has another great interview.
Chris Oliver at Psychedelicatessen writes a review that turns into some interesting commentary on Punk in general.

The Devil’s Candy, by Julie Salamon
Hardback, 1991

You should know
I’ve neither read nor seen The Bonfire of the Vanities. I read this book for a class.

This is relevant because the book is about the making of the movie, from a meeting with Tom Wolfe, author of the book, to the premiere of the movie. I won't spoil it for you, but if you've seen the movie, I doubt you'll be surprised.

So?
That said, I really enjoyed this book. It did an excellent job of cutting between the politics and disasters of moviemaking and the history and personality of director Brian De Palma. As the story progresses, you really feel like cheering at the successes, as in a scene when a Concorde landing has to be choreographed precisely. You also find yourself cringing every time another wrench is thrown into things – which happens with aggravating regularity.

The book also shows nice glimpses of insight into the characters of the main actors: Tom Hanks, Melanie Griffith, and Bruce Willis.

Rating
Read it if…
You’re interested in what goes on behind the scenes in Hollywood – or if you loved the book or hated the movie. Both of which I now want to read/see.

The rest of the Internet
The book is compared to Lillian Ross's Picture at Combustible Celluloid.
A great review at Bookslut.
Another review at PatrickRunkle.com.
Honey at Bookfrog was less impressed.

Much Ado About Nothing, 1993
VHS, from the Library

You should know
I was an English major as an undergrad, and Much Ado About Nothing was one of my favorite of Shakespeare’s plays. I read it in class and saw it on stage. I even get the Elizabethan-era dirty joke in the title. So when my mother got the movie out of the library, I was curious to see how this interpretation would work.

So?
Well, first of all, I was very much amused at the concept of Denzel Washington and Keanu Reaves as brothers, though I suppose it’s feasible when you consider that Don Pedro and Don John are half-brothers. That’s not made clear until nearly halfway through, though; my mother didn’t pick it up until I pointed it out about a half hour in.

There was entirely too much time and camerawork spent on completely gratuitous nudity. There’s no bathing scene in the play, so several minutes of bare behinds was not really called for. At the same time, the best way to stay true to the Bard’s vision is to make a lot of money, so no doubt these scenes would have suited him just fine.

Both couples were well matched, so that both Beatrice and Benedick and Hero and Claudio looked like sets of siblings. Also, in this show, as in most of Shakespeare’s plays, the good girl (in this case, Hero) is supposed to be fair (blonde), while the bad girl (Beatrice) is supposed to be dark (brunette). It’s the other way around in the movie, which distracted me more than it probably should have. In a similar vein, Beatrice makes a speech about how only little boys do not have beards, while a beardless Claudio lurks nearby. These aren’t crucial plot points, and most people probably wouldn’t notice them, but the English major in me protested.

Rating
Check it out
Sure, it dragged at moments, but overall it was pretty good. I’m never one to recommend watching a movie instead of reading the book, but plays always make more sense if you see them. If you can’t see it performed live, this movie certainly makes for an acceptable substitution. Just be wary – I didn’t compare line-by-line, so I can’t vouch for any kind of precise fidelity to the original. It’s close enough for entertainment purposes, though.

The rest of the internet
The Wikipedia entry.
A flash cartoon of the play.

The Gift of Fear

by Gavin de Becker, 1999
Hardback, from the library

You should know

I’ve seen this book referenced in many advice columns and safety guides. It’s highly recommended across the board.

So?

Initially, I was just intrigued by the anecdotes and advice. De Becker survived by trusting his instincts and his fear from a very early age, and has gone on to make a rather lucrative living by teaching others to do the same.

Stories of rape survivors and murder victims show instances where something seemed “off,” and how acting on this could have, or did, save lives.

A later chapter really hit home, though. It explains how to deal with “acquaintance stalkers;” that is, people who refuse to take a hint when you do not want to be involved with them romantically. I recognized, in my reading, a situation I had been in several years ago. I did everything de Becker recommended one not do; the other party did everything de Becker warned about. Further, I was given a lot of very well-meaning advice and was told to do the wrong things. What advice I got to do the right thing was never explained in a way that made sense, as de Becker did. Note: letting a guy down easy comes across as given him hope. There are some guys you just don’t want to give hope to.

Also, a late chapter explaining the difference between fear and worry explained some of my own habits.

Rating

Put this at the top of your to-read list.
I know I don’t have much to say about this book. This is a short review, and my rating really says it all. Have you had a bad experience with a person who seemed just a little weird? Do you feel like people are being pushy, but they’re so nice it would be wrong to say no? Read this book.

The rest of the Internet

Gavin de Becker's website.
Read an excerpt.
Salon reviews the book.
Colleen at For All the World to See called the book one that changed her life, and wrote an article passing on his tips.

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Clerks.

1994, VHS

Clerks II

2006, big-screen

You should know

Sorry about the late update. I'm in New York looking at apartments for the upcoming semester, and was on the run all day yesterday.

Last week I mentioned that I hadn’t wanted to see Clerks II until I had seen the first movie. Fortunately, my brother owns a copy and was willing to let me borrow it. Dan came over, and we watched Clerks. with my parents, then headed out to the theater to see Clerks II.

So?

Watching Clerks. with my parents was awkward. My mom really appreciated most of the humor, but I couldn’t tell how my dad was reacting at all. Actually, it was a lot like that episode of That 70s Show where Eric and Kitty see a movie together – the whole time, each is hoping the other doesn’t understand the dirty jokes.

Also, and I know this is blasphemy against pop culture, I think the movie would have been much better had Jay and Silent Bob been cut. Yes, I know Silent Bob is Kevin Smith himself, and I know Jay is played by his friend. Even so, the only thing they really contributed to the plot was a bit of dialogue at the end that anyone could have spoken – and the comic relief wasn’t that funny or that relieving. Flame away, but that’s what I think.

Clerks II was really enjoyable. It was completely different from its predecessor, but still managed to capture the spirit of the first.

The introduction of color reminded me of The Wizard of Oz, and the new characters fit in perfectly. Even Jay and Silent Bob seemed more organic, although I didn’t always welcome them. I could spot several places where the sequel could have made references to the first movie perfectly naturally, but it didn’t suffer for wanting them; if I hadn’t just seen the movie that day, I probably wouldn’t have noticed.

And how can I forget the dance number? It never would have fit into Clerks. However, it was a fun moment in Clerks II. Like the rest of the movie, it was over-the-top in contrast to the lower-key first movie, but that just shows how cinema, Kevin Smith, and Dante and Randal have grown and changed in the last decade.

Rating

See them both.
Back-to-back, if you can. I considered recommending that you fast-forward through Jay and Silent Bob scenes, but you know what? Watch them and make your own call. They’re cultural icons, and me not liking them doesn’t make it not true. Of course, don’t watch it with your kids… and consider not watching it with your parents.

The rest of the Internet

IMDb entries for both movies.
Wikipedia entries for both films.
Rolling Stone reviewed Clerks II.
Movie Mistakes found continuity errors in both films.
Jeff at Minutiae enjoyed Clerks II.
Shameless but topical self-promotion: Attention, Shoppers! gives helpful hints that could keep cashiers from going the way of the Clerks.