Information is courtesy of Giovanni’s Room, 345 S. 12th St.; 215-923-2960; www.queerbooks.com. Ten-percent off most hardcover in-store sales.
DVDs
Women’s 1. “Lovers & Friends Show, Season 3,” directed by Charmain Johnson (2010, 217 min., $19.95). The ever-changing lives of your favorite women steam up as their worlds are turned upside-down. 2. “The Owls,” directed by Cheryl Dunye (2010, 67 min., $27.95). Ten years ago, The Screech was the hottest lesbian band around. But the mighty musicians have fallen into obscurity and unanticipated turmoil. 3. “A Marine Story,” directed by Ned Farr (2010, 93 min., $24.95). An ex-Marine coaches troubled teen. 4. “Room in Rome,” directed by Julio Medem (2010, 109 min., $24.95). Erotic night in Rome. 5. “Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement,” directed by Greta Olafsdottir and Susan Muska (2009, 61 min., $24.99). Documentary of a life-long romance.
Men’s 1. “Straight and Butch,” directed by Butch Cordora (2010, 87 min., $19.99). Documentary of making a calendar of nude straight men with nude gay Philadelphia TV personality Butch Cordora. 2. “Mysterious Skin,” directed by Gregg Araki (2004, 99 min., $24.95). Based on Scott Heim’s novel of youthful innocence, sexual abuse and survival. 3. “Deleted Scenes,” directed by Todd Verow (2010, 90 min., $19.95). A sexy, romantic relationship. 4. “Crush,” directed by Michael J. Saul (2010, 77 min., $19.95). Four stories of love and longing. 5. “David’s Birthday,” directed by Marco Filiberti (2009, 106 min., $19.95). Married man in love and in crisis.
General Interest 1. “Stonewall Uprising,” directed by David Heilbroner and Kate Davis (2010, 84 min., $24.95). A documentary about the three days of riots in New York City in 1969 sparked by a police raid on the gay bar The Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street.
BOOKS
General Interest 1. “A Queer History of the United States,” by Michael Bronski (Beacon, 288 pp., $27.95 hb, less 10 percent in the store). From pre-1492 to the present. 2. “Great Speeches on Gay Rights,” edited by James Daley (Dover, 160 pp., $3.50 pb). From the late 1800s to now.
Men’s 1. “A Body on Pine,” by Joseph R.G. DeMarco (Lethe, 364 pp., $18 pb). When Marco Fontana enters his friend’s spa on Pine Street, he doesn’t find the peaceful retreat he expected. DeMarco’s second Philadelphia mystery. 2. “Internal Chaos,” by M.W. Moore (M.W. Moore, 300 pp., 14.99 pb). The author writes, “This is the second of the trilogy highlighting my life story and how I struggled with sexual addictions, drugs and crime after robbing six banks in the state of Texas.” 3. “Obscene Diary: The Visual World of Sam Steward,” edited by Justin Spring (Elysium Press/Antinous Press, 320 pp., $149.99 hb, less 10 percent in the store). To order, please call or email. This lavishly illustrated volume illustrates the extraordinary visual world of a talented writer, artist, photographer and sexual outlaw. Edited by the author of the hugely popular “Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Artist and Sexual Renegade.” 4. “Bob the Book,” by David Pratt (Chelsea Station, 202 pp., $16 pb). The life and times of a contemporary gay book and his friends, humans and other books. A love story.
Women’s Interest 1. “Belonging: A Culture of Place,” by bell hooks (Routledge, 240 pp., $23.95 pb). What does it mean to call a place home? Who is allowed to become a member of a community? When can we say that we truly belong? 2. “The Fran Lebowitz Reader,” by Fran Lebowitz (Vintage, 352 pp., $15.95 pb). Brings together in one volume, with a new preface, two bestsellers, “Metropolitan Life” and “Social Studies,” by an “important humorist in the classic tradition” (The New York Times Book Review), who is “the natural successor to Dorothy Parker” (British Vogue). In “elegant, finely honed prose” (The Washington Post Book World), Lebowitz limns the vicissitudes of contemporary urban life — its fads, trends, crazes, morals and fashions. By turns ironic, facetious, deadpan, sarcastic, wry, wisecracking and waggish, she is always wickedly entertaining. 3. “Just Kids,” by Patti Smith (Ecco, 320 pp., $16 new in pb). Smith’s evocative, honest and moving coming-of-age story reveals her extraordinary relationship with artist Robert Mapplethorpe. Part romance, part elegy, “Just Kids” is about friendship in the truest sense, and the artist’s calling. 4. “Heather Has Two Mommies,” by Lesléa Newman (Alyson, 36 pp., $12.95 pb). Twentieth-anniversary edition.