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DVDS GAY 1. “Make the YuleTide Gay,” directed by Rob Williams (2009, 89 min., $19.99 DVD). Follows a young gay couple — Nathan and Gunn — as they face their first Christmas apart. 2. “Eating Out: All You Can Eat,” directed by Glen Gaylord (2009, 81 min., $24.95 DVD). Casey is new to the gay scene, refreshingly cute, geeky and extremely shy. When bombastic Tiffani befriends Casey and takes him under her wing, his adventures have only just begun! 3. “The Closet, Vol. 1,” directed by Maurice Townes (2006, 470 min., $24.95 DVD). Serving a bold dose of human life that reflects real stories, such as STD awareness, forbidden love, manipulation, religion, AIDS and drug use, which all instill thought-provoking insight for viewers. 4. “Were The World Mine,” directed by Tom Gustafson (2008, 95 min., $24.95 DVD). Armed with a magical love potion and empowered by dazzling musical fantasies, struggling with his identity and acceptance, adorable teen Timothy turns his narrow-minded town gay while capturing the heart of Jonathon, the rugby jock of his dreams. 5. “Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom,” directed by Patrik-Ian Polk (2008, 101 min., $24.95 DVD). “Noah’s Arc” is back, and you’re invited to the big wedding! 6. “Finding Me,” directed by Roger Omeus (2008, 115 min., $19.99 DVD). Faybien Allan has it all going on: He’s young, stylish and knows the importance of being seen with hip friends at NYC’s trendiest spots. But beneath the sparkle of his nightlife and his stunning good looks is a man buckling under his father’s homophobia. 7. “Redwoods,” directed by David Lewis (2009, 90 min., $19.99 DVD). Tells the story of a man in a sexless relationship who meets and falls in love with a writer passing through his small Northern California town. 8. “Gods of Football: The Making of the 2009 Calendar,” directed by Grant Carroll (2009, 80 min., $24.95 DVD). Australia’s hottest footballers (rugby players) naked for a cause! Built! Hot! Sexy! And baring it all for breast-cancer research! 9. “Newcastle,” directed by Dan Castle (2008, 107 min., $24.95 DVD). A coming-of-age tale combining the gorgeous Australian surfing beaches with the raw energy, music and rebellion of teen culture. 10. “Adam and Steve,” directed by Craig Chester (2005, 99 min., $19.99 DVD). In the 1980s, Adam and Steve shared an embarrassing one-night stand. When they meet again years later, they fail to recognize each other and fall in love — as do their wisecracking best friends.
LESBIAN 1. “Lovers and Friends Show,” directed by Charmain Johnson (2008, 393 min., $24.98 DVD). Six minority lesbian women navigating through life’s obstacles, making new friends and experiencing new drama. 2. “Gia,” directed by Michael Cristofer (1998, 126 min., $5.95 DVD). Angelina Jolie gives a stunning performance as real-life lesbian supermodel Gia, who lived the wild life of the New York fashion scene in the ’70s. 3. “But I’m a Cheerleader,” directed by Jamie Babbit (1999, 90 min., $14.95 DVD). To Megan’s surprise, one day her family and friends confront her with evidence that she is gay: She’s a vegetarian, she doesn’t like kissing her boyfriend and she’s got a poster of a cheerleader in her locker. In spite of Megan’s protests, her parents send her packing to a homosexual rehabilitation camp. 4. “Lesbian Sex & Sexuality,” directed by Katherine Linton (2007, 158 min., $29.95 DVD). Takes viewers on an uncharted and provocative journey where the subject of lesbian sexuality and desire isn’t whispered, but celebrated. 5. “The L Word: Final Season,” directed by Angela Robinson (2008, $49.95 DVD). It’s the final season of the show that won our hearts and got us talking, for its unwavering dedication to portraying sexy lesbian characters in a steady stream of increasingly hot and wild story lines. 6. “Stranger Inside,” directed by Cheryl Dunye (2001, 96 min., $9.95 DVD). From the author-director of “Watermelon Woman.” 7. “Go Fish,” directed by Rose Troche (1994, 83 min., $14.95 DVD). A funny and sexy glimpse into the lives, loves and drama of a cluster of lesbian friends. 8. “The Gymnast,” directed by Ned Farr (2006, 98 min., $24.95 DVD). Winner of 28 awards, this is a visually stunning film about hope, second chances and finding the courage to defy gravity. 9. “The Guitar,” directed by Amy Redford (2008, 93 min., $26.95 DVD). A captivating portrait of a woman’s self-empowerment (including a tryst with the pizza delivery girl). 10. “Girl Seeks Girl,” directed by Sonia Sebastian (2009, 153 min., $24.95 DVD). This hot and hilarious lesbian soap opera takes you on a wild ride through the mixed-up love lives of a group of sexy Madrid lesbians.
BOOKS LESBIAN 1. “Animal Magnetism: My Life with Creatures Great and Small,” by Rita Mae Brown (Ballatine, 235 pp., $25 hb). Bestselling author shares the lessons she’s learned from these marvelous creatures as well as her deep appreciation for them. 2. “The Importance of Being Iceland: Travel Essays in Art,” by Eileen Myles (Semiotext[e]), 216 pp., $17.95 pb). Myles travels New York City, seeing it with a poet’s eye for detail and with the consciousness that writing about art and culture has always been a social gesture. 3. “My Red Blood,” by Alix Dobkin (Alyson, 275 pp., $16.95 pb). This groundbreaking book, first published in 1982, is the story of two teenage girls whose friendship blossoms into love and who, despite pressures from family and school that threaten their relationship, promise to be true to each other and their feelings. 4. “Push,” by Sapphire (Vintage Books, 192 pp., $13 pb). Precious Jones, 16 years old and pregnant by her father with her second child, meets a determined and highly radical teacher who takes her on a journey of transformation and redemption. 5. “If Loving Two is Wrong,” by Kim Beverley (Oshun Publishing, 270 pp., $15 pb). Ever wonder what could make a woman fall for another woman? Neither did Kayla Thomas. Why would she? Her childhood crush, and the man of her dreams, has finally stepped up to the plate. 6. “Ash,” by Malinda Lo (Little, Brown Young Readers, 264 pp., $16.99 hb). Cinderella retold. Entrancing, empowering and romantic, “Ash” is about the connection between life and love and solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief. 7. “Fun Home,” by Alison Bechdel (Mariner Books, 232 pp., $13.95 pb). In this groundbreaking, bestselling graphic memoir, Bechdel charts her fraught relationship with her late father. 8. “Valencia: New Edition,” by Michelle Tea (Seal Press, 216 pp., $14.95 pb). In this gritty, confessional memoir, Tea takes the reader back to the city of her childhood: Chelsea, Mass. — a place where time and hope are spent on things not getting any worse. 9. “Pink Steam,” by Dodie Bellamy (Suspect Thoughts Press, 192 pp., $16.95 pb). Railroad buffs know pink steam as the first blast from a newly christened steam engine, which appears pink as it spews out rust. And now “Pink Steam,” the book, reveals the intimate secrets of Bellamy’s life — sex, shoplifting, voyeurism and writing. 10. “Pulling Me Back,” by GStarr (UrbanL Publishing, 284 pp., $14.95 pb). A hot and spicy fictional story chock full of erotic sexual pleasures, family feuds and infidelity, with side dishes of fatal attraction and revenge.
GAY 1. “Murder On Camac,” by Joseph DeMarco (Lethe, 396 pp., $18 pb). Gunned down in the street, author Helmut Brandt’s life ebbs away and puts a chain of events in motion that places P.I. Marco Fontana on a collision course with the church and the local community. 2. “Murder in the Garden District,” by Greg Herren (Alyson, 256 pp., $14.95 pb). A leading candidate for the upcoming senatorial race and a scion of a Louisiana political dynasty is shot to death in his Garden District mansion, and the prime suspect is his much-younger second wife with a checkered past. 3. “The Dance of No Hard Feelings,” by Mark Bibbins (Copper Canyon, 96 pp., $15 pb). The second collection from Lambda Award-winner Bibbins. 4. “Mental: Funny in the Head,” by Eddie Sarfaty (Kensington, 256 pp., $15 pb). Perfect for fans of David Sedaris, Sarfaty translates his astute and acerbic standup into a hilarious essay collection that explores career lows, schizophrenic felines and much more. 5. “Giovanni’s Room,” by James Baldwin (Delta, 176 pp., $14 pb). Set in the 1950s Paris of American expatriates, liaisons and violence, a young man finds himself caught between desire and conventional morality. 6. “You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas,” by Augusten Burroughs (St. Martin’s Press, 224 pp., $21.99 hb). Burroughs, in his caustically funny, nostalgic, poignant and moving collection, recounts Christmases past and present — as only he could. 7. “Some Day This Pain Will Be Useful to You,” by Peter Cameron (Picador USA, 229 pp., $13 pb). The story of James Sveck, a sophisticated, vulnerable young man with a deep appreciation for the world and no idea how to live in it. 8. “I Shudder: And Other Reactions to Life, Death and New Jersey,” by Paul Rudnick (Harper, 318 pp., $23.99 hb). Charming and touching, “I Shudder” is rendered in gorgeous, zinger-laden prose and reminds to keep our tongues sharp in the midst of life’s many obstacles and absurdities. 9. “Mapping the Territory,” by Christopher Bram (Alyson, 258 pp., $23.95 hb). Bram’s first collection of nonfiction ranges from such topics as the power of gay fiction, coming out in the 1970s in Virginia and the sexual imagination of Henry James. 10. “Mama Dearest,” by E. Lynn Harris (Karen Hunter, 400 pp., $25.99 hb). Delivers sensual thrills and electric plot twists — with one unforgettable woman of radiant star power, sexual magnetism and unapologetic ambition at the heart of the action.