Minimum Wage (Bk. 2)

Minimum Wage: Book Two is a thoroughly enjoyable twentysomething slice of life. Even though this is the second collection of Bob Fingerman's Minimum Wage stories, it reads well as a stand-alone volume: all of the characters are properly reintroduced and are distinctive enough to immediately engage new readers. The first two of the five chapters deal with protagonists Rob and Sylvia looking for an apartment together in New York City. Anyone who's had a hard time looking for a place to live or who hates to move will find plenty of humor in these pages. The fourth chapter, which centers on a comic-book convention (Rob is a cartoonist), is chock full of funny scenes and comics-industry cameos, which can be pretty darn funny if you're in on the jokes (if you're not up on comics convention humor, though, the chapter may not be as engaging). The volume ends slightly anticlimactically, leaving room for a third book, but don't let that deter you. Minimum Wage is great reading.