Didion-Approved

As a resident of Orange County, you really shouldn't be a stranger to widespread suburbia-rows and rows and acres and acres of development homes, with earth-toned stucco walls and Spanish-tiled roofs. Just north of Long Beach lies the "instant city" of Lakewood: It went from lima-bean fields to your typical post-World War II American suburb full of affordable tract housing built on a grid practically overnight. Author D.J. Waldie grew up in that sometimes-mind-numbing, sometimes-creepy, sometimes-pleasant place, and it's the subject of his best-known book, Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir , which subtly and nigh-emotionlessly documents everything from family life to the financial origins of Lakewood-all while questioning the very concept of suburbia itself. At Cal State Fullerton this Sunday, Waldie will discuss his bibliography, including his latest, California Romantica , which he co-wrote with Diane Keaton. Seriously.
Sun., March 30, 2 p.m., 2008