It’s about time Lakewood public information officer D.J. Waldie wrote a new book, you’re saying? Well he has–a book on Spanish Revival architecture in Southern California–co-written, with none other than actress Diane Keaton.You read that right, says Los Angeles Times writer Thomas Curwen: Waldie, intellectual author of the famed Lakewood story “Holy Land,” and Keaton–the Oscar-winning actress who’s never met an antique swap meet she didn’t like–co-authored a book.

That’s a good thing–judging by the times I’ve actually seen her inspecting an old chair or a piece of California pottery, Keaton probably knows more about the old stuff than most of us. Waldie, for his part, has discussed old drive-ins with Dave Alvin–and lived.

Their book, “California Romantica” examines some of the region’s famous Spanish Revival structures–and how they’ve both shaped, and been shaped by our perceptions of Southern California.

(And if you don’t know what Spanish Revival is, drive through the California Heights Historic District and look at all the white stucco-ed houses with red tile roofs and striped-y awnings.)

“All houses have a shaping power over our dreams of a moral life,” Waldie writes in the book’s introduction, as quoted in the Times. “The world is hard to live in, it seems to me, and we need allies.”

That’s it–you’re off and running. Should be a fine book.

Tags: " California Heights Historic District, " California pottery, "California Romantica, "Holy Land, California, d.j. waldie, Dave Alvin, Diane Keaton, lakewood, Long Beach, Los Angeles Times, Southern California, The District Weekly, Theo Douglas, Thomas Curwen