I'm not sure why I bought it, maybe it was the bright red title that caught my eye. I was hanging about around one of our local (now defunct,) skoupidia stores. I'd been hard up for something new to read for awhile and I'm known to like not only beer and dirty jokes, but also stories of the unrefined as well. I hadn't seen Drew Carey perform his stand-up routine and had only seen a few episodes of the Drew Carey Show... I was more familiar with his work on "Whose Line Is It, Anyways?," and while I found him humorous I was thinking to myself... "Well, it's a celebrity book... how funny can it really be?"

It was on ultra-discount, (being a skoupidia store 'n all,) so I picked it up along with a toy for my daughter which, despite the fact that it cost more than the book, broke before we even removed it from the box. As she valiantly tried to figure some way to get the spinning light-up top I had bought her to work I sat down with Drew and read first few pages of the book; an introduction, thanks to the people who helped him write / publish the book and greetings to the reader himself... I'm a sucker for authors who write an introduction to the audience.
Quoted from Drew Carey's book: Dirty Jokes and Beer Stories of the Unrefined ...

"In writing and planning this book, I had to make a few assumptions about you, the reader. First, I had to assume that you're buying this book because you're a fan of my stand-up act or my television show. And, I had to assume that you are like one of the vast majority of people in this country, in that you like a good dirty joke, and don't mind vulgar language as long as it's funny.

Then, I wrote you the best book that my minimal talent would allow. I wrote it imagining that you were sitting with me in a bar, and that we've decided to stay up all night getting drunk together. The jukebox is playing nothing but our favorite songs, and I'm buying. And then, if we're still awake when daylight comes, we're all going to call in sick to work.

Sounds like fun already, doesn't it?"

(Please don't sue me, Mr. Carey, I have no money and everyone else seems to be more than happy to keep me in courts at least once a year. None of them have gotten any money from me, either.)

Seriously, though, despite the fact that I'm a sucker for authors who write directly to their audience I was immediately drawn in by his very candid writing style. I appreciate the honesty that exuded off of every page, I really did feel like we were at a pub and getting drunk. Maybe even playing a few hands of poker.

The book is set up in sections and without giving too much away, Drew Carey tells different stories about his life before show business, touches on some behind the scenes aspects of the Drew Carey Show and a "Secret Chapter," some of the most hilarious... well, I'd tell you, but the Drew Carey might have to stalk or haunt me.

The meat of the book, for me at least, though is "Stories of the Unrefined," a collection of fictional stories Drew Carey wrote himself. It's the last few chapters of the book and possibly some of the best contemporary short story writing I have had the pleasure of reading. They're the reason I am writing this hub.

The act of having these short stories published in this book changed it from just another, (albeit funny as hell,) celebrity book into something truly special. These short stories are so good that I wanted to write a hub about them, which I can't really relate them to you, of course, that'd be wrong. I wonder if celebrity books get lumped into that category and gems like this and some of the others I've read get passed by.

If you haven't had the chance to read this book I cannot recommend borrowing it from the library enough... You'll end up buying a copy of it after you've read it, I'm sure. It's a book that is not only worth re-reading it is highly quotable as well. (Each chapter opens with a funny dirty joke. They're all pretty much gold.)

I have high hopes that Drew Carey is still writing. For someone who was kicked out of college twice he shows an incredible amount of natural talent and I would love to read more of his work.