Information is courtesy of Giovanni’s Room, 345 S. 12th St.; (215) 923-2960; www.giovannisroom.com. Ten-percent off most hardcover in-store sales.
DVDs Women 1. “Hannah Free,” directed by Wendy Jo Carlton (2010, 86 min., $24.95). A feature film about the lifelong love affair between an independent spirit and the woman she calls home. Weaving between past and present, the story reveals how the women maintain their love affair despite a marriage, a world war, infidelity and family denial. 2. “The Lovers & Friends Show, Season 1,” directed by Charmain Johnson (2008, 163 min., $19.95). Six lesbian women of color navigate through life’s obstacles, making new friends and experiencing new drama. 3. “Unveiled,” directed by Angelina Maccarone (2005, 97 min., $24.95). Fariba, persecuted in Iran because of her love for another woman, assumes the identity of a man to gain temporary asylum in Germany.
Gay Men 1. “The Big Gay Musical,” directed by Caspar Andreas and Fred M. Caruso (2009, 97 min., $24.95). Paul and Eddie have just begun previews for the new Off-Broadway musical “Adam and Steve Just the Way God Made ‘Em.” Their lives strangely mirror the characters they are playing. 2. “Shortbus,” directed by John Cameron Mitchell (20097, 101 minutes, $27.95). A group of New Yorkers find one another — and themselves — when they converge at a weekly underground salon called Shortbus, a mad world of art, music, politics and polysexual carnality. Sexual, sensual and fun! 3. “Lost Coast,” directed by Gabriel Fleming (2010, 74 min., $24.99). Halloween Night in San Francisco’s famous Castro is a time for celebration and revelry. And that is exactly what three young friends are in search of — but may not necessarily find — in writer-director Fleming’s story of reunion, desire and regret.
Books Transgender
1. “Balancing on the Mechitza: Transgender in Jewish Community,” edited by Noach Dzmura (North Atlantic Books, 288 pp., $16.95 pb). While the Jewish mainstream still argues about homosexuality, transgender and gender-variant people have emerged as a distinct Jewish population and as a new chorus of voices. Inspired and nurtured by the successes of the feminist and LGBT movements in the Jewish world, “Balancing on the Mechitza” offers a multifaceted portrait of this increasingly visible community. 2. “Transgender History,” by Susan Stryker (Seal Press, 190 pp., $14.95 pb). Covering American transgender history from the mid-20th century to today, this tome takes a chronological approach to the subject of transgender history, with each chapter covering major movements, writings and events. 3. “Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity,” by Julia Serano (Seal Press, 408 pp., $15.95 pb). Serano shares her experiences and observations — both pre-and post-transition — to reveal the ways in which fear, suspicion and dismissiveness toward femininity shape our societal attitudes toward trans women, as well as gender and sexuality as a whole.
Gay Men 1. “Bruthas,” by J.L. Whitehead (5ive Star Publications, 426 pp., $15 pb). The story of the struggle of three brothers, each wrestling with his own issues, demons and battles. 2. “Visible Lives: Three Stories in Tribute to E. Lynn Harris,” by Terrance Dean, Stanley Bennett Clay and James Earl Hardy (Kensington, 342 pp., $15 pb). In a powerful tribute to best-selling author and literary icon Harris, best-selling authors and friends Dean, Hardy and Clay honor him with sexy, original novellas in the genre he helped create — groundbreaking stories of black gay men searching for love in a taboo world. 3. “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 local community. 4. “Probation,” by Tom Mendocino (Kensington Press, 304 pp., $15 pb). In this timely and provocative novel from an authentic new voice in fiction, Mendicino explores how a closeted gay man’s decision to marry impacts his life and the people he loves, and what happens when the lies unravel. 5. “Moonlit Earth,” by Christopher Rice (Scribner, 368 pp., $25 hb). Rice returns with his first female protagonist since “The Snow Garden.” In this book, he delivers a compelling psychological thriller about a young woman who must act to save her brother’s reputation and life when he is accused of being involved in a terrorist event.
Women 1. “Mean Little Deaf Queer,” by Terry Galloway (Beacon, 248 pp., $15 new in pb). With disarming candor, Galloway writes about her mental breakdowns, her queer identity and living in a silent, quirky world populated by unforgettable characters. 2. “The Other Side of Paradise: A Memoir,” by Staceyanne Chin (Scribner, 282 pp., $16 pb). A brave and fiercely candid memoir about growing up in Jamaica by performer, activist and writer Chin. 3. “Rose of No Man’s Land,” by Michelle Tea (Mariner, 320 pp., $14 pb). A “postmillennial, class-adjusted ‘My So-Called Life’” (Publishers Weekly), this story is brimming with snarky observations and soulful musings on contemporary teenage America. 4. “Little Stranger,” by Sarah Waters (Riverhead Trade, 528 pp., $16 new in pb). Dr. Faraday is called to a patient at the home of the Ayres family. The owners — mother, son and daughter — are struggling to keep pace with a changing society, as well as with conflicts of their own. But are the Ayreses haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life? Little does Faraday know how closely, and how terrifyingly, their story is about to become intimately entwined with his. 5. “Sea of Grass,” by Kate Sweeney (Intaglio Publications, 230 pp., $16.95 pb). Professor Tess Rawlins spent the last 12 years teaching agriculture in California, away from Montana and her heart. When she’s called back to the cattle ranch and her ailing father, Tess is thrown back into the world she had nearly forgotten since the death of her brother two years earlier.