Pick your favorite Midwestern awe phrase — “holy cow,” “son of a gun,” “oh my god” — and it all works when it comes to news that Charlie Berens is now a New York Times bestselling author .
The Wisconsin comedian's debut book, “The Midwest Survival Guide: How We Talk, Love, Work, Drink and Eat… Everything with Ranch,” landed him at No. 4 the latest New York Times list of best-selling Tips, How-tos and Miscellaneous titles. That puts him in the company of home decor and lifestyle icon Joanna Gaines (No. 7) and The Pioneer Woman herself, Ree Drummond (No. 1).
Berens, who is best known for his “Mint Manitowoc” and other popular video sketches about life in the Midwest, tackle everything from winter driving and bug-out dressing to brandy old-fashioneds and deer hunting in the 288-page hardcover book published Nov. 16 by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins.
He celebrated the New York Times Best Seller milestone with his parents and a cake decorated like the book's cover in a photo shared on social media.
“Thank you so much to all of you who bought #TheMidwestSurvivalGuide for making it a New York Times Bestseller. Special thanks to my mom who bought half the copies,” she wrote on Instagram.
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In an interview with the Green Bay Press-Gazette in October, Berens talked about writing “The Midwest Survival Guide.”
“It's as much for people who have lived here all their lives as it is for people who are visiting for the first time, because the Midwest is so big and so diverse that there's so much to learn,” he said.
“It's like that onion you find in the back of your crisper that's started growing into another onion, and it's got all these layers and complexity and it looks a little weird, but as you pull those layers back, you've got some moisture the eye area. It's touching. It s funny. It's so unique.”
Behrens, who lives in Milwaukee, is touring to support the book. His show Friday at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon will be his biggest venue to date and his first in an arena. Limited tickets remain ticketstaronline.com.
Contact Kendra Meinert at 920-431-8347 or kmeinert@greenbay.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KendraMeinert.
