That Vintage Girl

If you dream in cinematic monochrome, long for the whispered secrets of Hollywood's early days, and appreciate the architectural charm of 1920s Los Angeles, you will enjoy reading The Castle on Sunset by Shawn Levy.  The book is a biographical novel about one of Hollywood's most famous haunts, the elegant and romantic Chateau Marmont.  Built in 1929, in the style of a French Gothic castle, the Chateau Marmont has stood majestically on one of California's most famous streets, Sunset Boulevard. It has silently witnessed and adapted to the changing scene on the Sunset Strip from a quiet urban neighborhood outside the city limits of Los Angeles to the glamorous playground of Tinseltown's movie stars.  Due to its proximity to the major Hollywood studios, it became a sanctuary for Hollywood legends who sought refuge and privacy, but was also a place where the lines between art, love and tragedy often intertwined. The author unveils decades of tales from passionate rom...

October is the perfect month to curl up on a cozy couch with a warm cup of coffee and a mystery book. This month, I am traveling back in time to the Silent Age of Hollywood with A Cast of Killers.  The book is a true crime mystery about the unsolved 1922 murder of William Desmond Taylor, a famous Hollywood film director.   The murder became a national scandal and it ended the careers of two prominent silent-film actresses whose association with the director made them prime suspects. In 1967, King Vidor, who began his career in Hollywood as a silent-film actor and then became a successful film director, set out to solve the murder mystery. He began a years-long pursuit of research and interviews, but when he thought he had finally identified the killer, he chose to keep his research a secret for fear that the revelation may destroy the lives of people connected to the case who were still alive.   William Desmond Taylor  Photograph from the Los Angeles Public...

This year I am traveling back to France through Peter Mayle's book A Year in Provence .  Published in 1989, the novel is the author's memoir of living in a 200-year-old Provençal farmhouse with his wife after leaving the cloudy skies of England for the warm sunshine of southeastern France.  Each chapter recounts adventures from their first year in the remote Provençal town of Lubéron, a region filled with picturesque hilltop villages, rolling hills, lavender fields, and olive groves.  The author shares many endearing experiences and struggles that include learning a new language and local customs, their growing camaraderie with the locals, restoring their two-century stone farmhouse, exploring new culinary tastes, and embracing the Provençal life.   Years after its first publication, A Year in Provence continues to captivate readers and inspire them to dream of their own Provençal journey to a slower and more savory life. 

I just finished reading a fascinating page-turner by Jennie Fields called  Atomic Love . It is a captivating story that takes place in a Chicago suburb in 1950. At a time when America was experiencing post-World War II prosperity and economic growth, the lives of three solitary souls, still healing from the damages inflicted by the war, intertwine with dramatic and unexpected consequences. Eloquently written, the story encompasses love, intrigue, mystery, sacrifice, and redemption. I truly could not put the book down!

This month's Books & Coffee post is about The Associates: Four Capitalists Who Created California. It is a historic novel about the building of the Iron Horse in the late 1800s.  The book unfolds the true story of one man's dream and vision to build an intercontinental railroad across America, that fell into the hands of four shopkeepers who came to California during the Gold Rush and became some of the most powerful, influential, and wealthy men in California.  The man with the vision was civil engineer Theodore Judah and the men with the power were Collis Huntington, Mark Hopkins, Leland Stanford, and Charles Crocker.  It's an intriguing story about the building of the intercontinental railway that was intertwined with political strategy, the industrial revolution, and how it lead to the development of Southern California.   I have paired the book with coffee poured into a cup and saucer that are reproductions of the beautiful Mimbreño China that was ...

For the end of summer, I travel to France through the printed pages in  The Only Street in Paris .  Written by Elaine Sciolino, an American journalist living in France, the book is a charming memoir of her life on the Rue des Martyrs, an old street in Paris lined with lovely century-old apartment buildings and shops. She endearingly shares her journey and discoveries in each chapter as she unveils the hidden treasures of this small but vibrant neighborhood that fervently protects the preservation of its community and Parisian traditions. Being an advocate of historic preservation and a lover of France, this book is a wonderful read!  I hope that someday I will visit France and the Rue des Martyrs.