A Castle in the Backyard:

The Dream of a House in France 

This is a delightfully told tale of an academic couple who fall in love with the Perigord region of France and decide to hunt for a vacation home there.   As well as all of the usual travails that people encounter in purchasing and renovating a home long distance, add in the inability to speak the language well, and the peculiarities of trying to deal with a totally alien culture.  As the couple becomes part of village life, experience with them the inevitable changes that come when "Progress" decides to invade their idyllic retreat.

The Walnut Cookbook

Betsy and Michael have translated and adapted their Castelnaud friend and neighbor Jean-Luc Toussaint's walnut cookbook.  Here are recipes for appetizers, main courses, desserts, and liqueurs, to name a few.  There is a fascinating chapter about the history of the walnut in the Perigord region which also alludes to the health benefits of consuming walnuts and walnut oil.  Even with the rich diet that is typical of the region (think foie gras), people of the region enjoy robust good health which may be attributable to their regular consumption of walnuts.