MALCOLM AND HEATHER'S NEW BOOK : CITY-PICK VENICE

Check back in my index (top left-hand column) to see my earlier reviews of city-pick books by Malcolm Burgess and Heather Reyes. Absolutely brilliant! Their latest book ties in with the National Gallery’s Venice: Canaletto and his Rivals exhibition from October 2010 – January 2011– the biggest Venetian show since 1967! city-pick Venice: Edited by Heather Reyes ISBN: 978 0 9559700 8 5, £8.99 paperback Pictured are Malcolm, good friend Oliver Rowe from Pheonix FM in Brentwood, Essex - and of course, Heather.

I quote a few reviews: “The latest addition to this admirable series … makes any visit to La Serenissima more flavoursome’ The Bookseller, November Editor’s Pick, 6 August 2010, ‘Superb … It’s like having your own iPad loaded with different tomes, except with the best passages, bite-sized chunks, just perfect to dip into” The Times

From arriving in Venice by sea with Jan Morris and crossing the ominous Bridge of Sighs with Casanova … to getting under the skin of the Biennale with Geoff Dyer and learning about Venice the hard way with Bidisha … from taking a sultry summer gondola ride with Thomas Mann and climbing up to San Marco’s horses with Sally Vickers’ Miss Garnett … to hearing all about the city from Venetian residents Tiziano Scarpa and novelist and palazzo owner Michelle Lovric, and much, much more … Together with a fascinating introduction to the wealth and range of Venetian writing by Jeff Cotton, creator of the Fictional Cities website.

city-pick Venice is the latest title in the ‘wonderful’ (The Guardian), ‘impressive’ (Sunday Telegraph) and ‘excellent’ (Conde Nast Traveller) city-pick series, featuring some of the best-ever writing about favourite world cities for lovers of brilliant writing and travellers alike. Titles already published in the series include Paris, London, Berlin, Dublin and Amsterdam. www.oxygenbooks.co.uk