Summertime is knocking at the front door. Everything feels a little lighter and the air smells like a holiday. Sunny days at the lake or long, balmy summer evenings in the garden - what's missing now is a good book. Because summertime is reading time. Whether in your own hammock or on holiday, a book is the best companion for hot days. They turn on the mental cinema and carry us to faraway places. A good book is perhaps the best way to escape time.

Head cinema on

teNeues presents picture books that promise fantasy journeys and awaken summer feelings. Dream yourself away to faraway beaches and enjoy the vastness of the ocean. Stroll in the dreamy light of the Côte d'Azur or embark on a journey to the Italian coast of the late 1950s:

"Light on the Riviera - Photography of the Côte d'Azur".

The Côte d'Azur, the beautiful stretch of Mediterranean coastline that stretches from Cassus to Menton on the Italian border. The French Riviera is now world-famous and one of the most popular holiday destinations anywhere. Whether it's a beach holiday or a city break - the versatility of the Côte d'Azur is limitless and inspires not only with famous places like Nice, Cannes or Saint Tropez. 

The Riviera is a place to see and be seen. Photographs have been taken on the Riviera since the beginnings of the medium. Even today, the rich light on the Côte d'Azur is considered a breathtaking natural spectacle. The glittering sun and the azure sea already inspired people centuries ago. Photographer Genevieve Janvrin and Sophie Wright show how former fishing villages became cultural centres and created an illustrated book that depicts the Côte d'Azur at the beginning of the 20th century.  In addition to much of Europe's high society, numerous creatives, intellectuals and bon vivants were seduced by the charms of the Côte d'Azur, making the once remote region a popular destination for artists and photographers.

Thanks to its legendary light, the Riviera propelled art photography and was the creative site of numerous works. "Light on the Riviera - Photography of the Côte d'Azur" is a chronology of the visual heritage of photographers such as Charles Nègre, Lee Miller, Martine Franck and Helmut Newton. The illustrated book traces the development of photography and the Riviera itself through the works of the artists and shows how photographers, painters and fashion designers influenced each other in their creative art. Delve into the beginnings of photography as well as the avant-garde fashion of the 1920s, discover a chronology from the Surrealists to the Golden Fifties of paparazzi photography and experience the evolution from artist portraiture to photojournalism.

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"La lunga strada di sabbia"

The illustrated book "La lunga strada di sabbia" is dedicated to the extraordinary journey of writer and director Pier Paolo Pasolini and photographer Paolo Di Paolo at the end of the 1950s. The travel reportage accompanies the two men in the summer of 1959 on their coastal route from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Adriatic, from Ventimiglia to Trieste. Two people who had never met before discover a changing Italy in a humorous and personal way.

Commissioned by Arturo Tofanelli, editor-in-chief of the monthly magazine Successo and the weekly Tempo, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Paolo Di Paolo document their experiences in very different ways: while Pasolini, the writer, searches for a world of lost literary ghosts, Di Paolo wants to depict an Italy that looks to the future. The title "La lunga strada di sabbia", which translates as "The long road of sand", also comes from him. The contrasting viewpoints of both men make the illustrated book a special witness to the era.

The book promises nostalgia and transports us to a far-off time, between the recovery from the war and the beginnings of the economic miracle. Vivid black and white scenes depict the life of those times and provide insights into the fashion, everyday life and mood of a growing country. 

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"Beachlife"

A picture book devotedly and intensively to the place of longing, the beach. "Beachlife" sets the scene for the beach lifestyle in photographic form and accompanies the exclusive photographs with entertaining stories. Author Stefan Maiwald gives a feeling of holiday and freedom on 224 pages. Sunbathing, eating ice cream or the feeling of hot sand under bare feet - Maiwald's declaration of love for the beach awakens longing and wanderlust for the scent of salt water and the sound of the waves.

The coffee table book impressively shows the beauty and diversity of the beach and captures the weightlessness of this place of longing in text and photography. The versatile photographs of the beach show it in all its facets: the lively hustle and bustle, deserted beaches, surfing and beach volleyball, stylish appearances, exclusive destinations and celebrities.

Stefan Maiwald portrays dazzling personalities like Coco Chanel or Brigitte Bardot and reveals their intimate relationship with the beach. "Beachlife" tells stories about Coco Chanel's invention of the summer tan or Thomas Mann's source of inspiration: the vastness of the ocean in which the spirit is able to unfold. "Beachlife" is thus also a homage to the fascinating relationship between man and the beach.

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