Dec. CLE Read: Damn Right I’m From Cleveland by Mike Polk Jr.

UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to the winners!

Between the usual stress of the holidays and what happened last week, I don’t think I’m alone in thinking we could all use a little laughter right now.

So I figured I’d pick a book for my December CLE Read that lightens the mood. And there was Mike Polk Jr.’s Damn Right I’m From Cleveland to the rescue.

If you’re a Clevelander who spends any amount of time online (which I assume you do since you’re on a blog right now), you’re likely familiar with Polk’s Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video.

I first saw it courtesy of Scott’s Animosity Pierre comedy team who seriously still quote it to this day when they visit.

However, between other viral videos like One Semester of Spanish – Love Song or his ode to the Factory of Sadness and his sketch comedy work with the award-winning Last Call Cleveland, Polk isn’t a one-hit wonder.

Repeatedly named one of Cleveland’s best comedians, Polk’s comedic chops caught the attention of local publisher Gray and Co. who invited him to put it all down in writing.

And so we have just over 100 pages of hilarity, equal parts broad and subversive, poking fun at everything Cleveland – including himself.

It may be a quick read, but each 2-page spread got a laugh out of me that lasted long after I put the book down. My personal favorites:

• Cleveland Thrifting Like a Pro (which I had to keep Scott from reading so that he wouldn’t immediately go on a shopping spree)
• Potential Cleveland Bumper Stickers (“Cleveland: We’re Just Crashing in Canada’s Basement Til We Can Get Our Shit Together”)
• 3 Plans to Resurrect Downtown Cleveland (I think the urban paintball arena would have more than its fair share of fans)
• And this…

A Better Cleveland Flag from Mike Polk’s Damn Right I’m From Cleveland. Godd-Dawg!

A Browns fan by birth not choice, Polk also mines a lifetime of tortured sports memories for laughs. I even learned a few things – like the fact that the ultimate Cleveland sports fantasy Major League isn’t even about a championship game, just a pennant.

Some Cleveland supporters may cringe at what Polk writes or give him flack for making fun of the city.

They should get over it.

Good comedy is rarely ever nice and with Polk it comes from a place of love. Polk notes in his introduction that this city with “a rich history and a promising future” is like a younger sibling he can tease “because we’re family and that’s what we do. But if some asshole from Indianapolis mouths off about it, I do not hesitate to set him straight.”

Damn right.

You can purchase Damn Right I’m From Cleveland from Cleveland publisher Gray & Company for only $14.95 or find it in local bookstores: www.grayco.com/stores/index.shtml.

I’m also giving away two copies to add a bit of humor to your holidays.

There are 5 Easy Ways to Enter the Giveaway!
Leave a separate comment on this post for each entry.

1) For one entry, leave a comment on this post recommending a Cleveland book you’ve read or want to read.

2) Follow @ClevelandBooks and @ADHicken on Twitter and leave one comment here letting me know you did both.

3) If you’re a fan of Clue Into Cleveland on Facebook, leave a comment on this blog post letting me know. If you’re not yet a fan, you can become one here.

4) Twitter users can also get an extra entry each day for tweeting: “I want to win @clevelandbooks’ Damn Right I’m From Cleveland. Enter @ADHicken’s giveaway for your chance to win: http://wp.me/p2Ukr0-1If”  (Each day you do this, you must leave a new comment.)

5) Subscribe to receive Clue Into Cleveland blog posts by email or via the RSS feed and leave a comment letting me know you did. This can include signing up to receive email notifications in the top-right “Subscribe” section of this page.

You have until Monday, Dec. 24 at 11:59PM to enter. On Christmas Day, I will select 2 winners using Random.org and will announce their names on my blog.  Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry.

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This is the latest in my CLE Reads series. Check out my previous installments:

• Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland (September 2012)
• Les Roberts’ Whiskey Island (October 2012)
• Rust Belt Chic (November 2012)

I’ll be back next month with Women Behaving Badly: Cleveland’s Most Ferocious Female Killers.

Disclosure: I was invited to review a copy of Damn Right I’m From Cleveland and give away 2 copies. The opinions expressed here about the book are 100% my own.