Reading Roundup: 'Damn Right I'm From Cleveland' and 'Alien: The Illustrated Story'

Reviews by Bob Ignizio

Damn Right I'm From Cleveland by Mike Polk Jr. (Gray & Company Publishers)

If you're going to live in Cleveland, you might as well have a sense of humor about it. Comedian Mike Polk Jr. certainly does. He's the guy responsible for those “Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism” videos. He's also the author of one of the finest pieces of bathroom reading material to come out in 2012, Damn Right I'm From Cleveland. I don't mean that as an insult; as Polk himself readily admits, this is barely a real book. It's basically just a collection of short essays and cheap visual gags tailor made for reading a few pages at a time.

Your chance to win Cleveland-centric books from Gray & Company Publishers

*Update* this contest is officially over. Congratulations to our winners!

Here at the Cleveland Movie Blog, we love movies. Well, except for Charles, maybe. But sometimes it's good to take a break from the almost non-stop audio-visual stimulation of modern life and actually read a book. Not an e-book on your Ipad or Kindle or whatever, but an actual, honest-to-goodness book made out of paper. If you feel the same way, you're in luck. Our friends at Gray & Company Publishers have provided us with copies of two of their latest books to give away – 'Damn Right I'm From Cleveland' by Mike Polk Jr., the stand-up comedian who unleashed those “Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism” videos on Youtube, and 'Cleveland Christmas Memories' by Restaurant Hospitality magazine editor Gail Ghetia Bellamy.

'Damn Right I'm From Cleveland' makes for great bathroom reading, which I mean as a sincere compliment. It's a bunch of short, funny essays and cheap gags about all things Cleveland. 'Cleveland Christmas Memories' is a collection of photos and remembrances of the way Clevelander's have celebrated the holiday in the past, so you can bet there's some mention of Mr. Jingleling and Halles.

Your chance to see comedian Mike Polk for free Wednesday December 28th

*Update* And it looks like we have a winner for these tickets. 

Want to see comedian Mike Polk live at Pickwick & Frolic/Hilarities at 7:00 pm? Be the first person to email us at clevelandmovieblog@gmail.com with your name, and Mike's publisher Gray & Company will put you on the guest list.

If you don't know who Mike Polk is, he's the guy responsible for the "Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video". He also has a new book out called 'Damn Right I'm From Cleveland'. If you aren't our winner, you can visit Mike's website to buy advance tickets.