Recommended reading about Venice (some available at Small World Books on the Boardwalk): Death is a Lonely Business, by Ray Bradbury. The famous writer brings his descriptive powers to a novel set in Venice circa late 1940s. The Holy Barbarians, by Lawrence Lipton. Chronicle of the Beat Generation in Venice. Available at Powell's Books online. Venice West: The Beat Generation in Southern California, by John Arthur Maynard. Call Someplace Paradise, by Pat Hartman. Venice in the late 70s, early 80s. Also available online at Xlibris (includes more information about the book). Venice California, by Carolyn Elayne Alexander. Pictorial history of Venice.