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.
Men’s Books
1. “Fit to Serve: Reflections on a Secret Life, Private Struggle and Public Battle to Become the First Openly Gay U.S. Ambassador” by James C. Hormel (Skyhorse, 320 pp., $24.95 hb, less 10 percent in the store). One man’s gripping memoir of freedom and determination in a heterosexual world. 2. “The Stranger’s Child” by Alan Hollinghurst (Knopf, 448 pp., $27.95 hb, less 10 percent in the store). From the Man Booker Prize-winning author of “The Line of Beauty” comes a magnificent, century-spanning saga about a love triangle that spawns a myth, and a family mystery, across generations. 3. “The Unreal Life of Sergei Nabokov” by Paul Russell (Cleis, 381 pp., $16.95 pb). 4. “Mary Ann in Autumn” by Armistead Maupin (HarperCollins, 287 pp., $14.99 new in pb). Twenty years have passed since Mary Ann Singleton left her husband and child in San Francisco to pursue her dream of a television career in New York. 5. “Holidays on Ice” by David Sedaris (Back Bay, 176 pp., $10 pb). Sedaris’ beloved holiday collection is new again with six more pieces. 6. “Remembering Christmas,” three novellas by Tom Mendicino, Frank Anthony Polito and Michael Salvatore (Kensington, 250 pp., $15 pb). This wistful gay anthology explores how “home for the holidays” can take you back physically and mentally. The men in these stories have season-specific reasons to reflect on and reconnect with their pasts. 7. “Chulito” by Charles Rice-Gonzalez (Magnus, 317 pp., $14.95 pb). A coming-of-age, coming-out love story of a sexy, tough, hip-hop-loving young Latino man in the Bronx. 8. “The Mammoth Book of Gorgeous Guys” edited by Barbara Cardy (Running Press, 480 pp., $17.95 pb). This collection of erotic art features over 500 erotic portraits of male nudes, some of them tastefully explicit, from some of the world’s leading photographers. 9. “Best Gay Erotica 2012” edited by Richard LaBonte (Cleis, 228 pp., $14.95 pb). Gathering the hottest, freshest and most literary fiction for the year, “Best Gay Erotica 2012” captures the tenderness and raw energy of man-on-man desire. 10. “The Art of Fielding” by Chad Harbach (HarperCollins, 528 pp., $25.99 hb). Baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for big-league stardom. But when a routine throw goes disastrously off course, the fates of five people are upended.
Men’s DVDs
1. “Eating Out 4: Drama Camp” directed by Q. Allan Brocka (2011, 90 min., $24.95). An over-the-top raunchy comedy with the innocence of summer love, as a cast of gay hotties endure a supposedly celibate stint at a theater camp in the woods. 2. “Buffering” directed by Darren Flaxstone and Christian Martin (2011, 50 min., $24.99). Follows a young gay couple who find one way to get themselves out of their mounting debt problems — Internet porn! 3. “Longhorns” directed by David Lewis (2011, 90 min., $24.99). This raucous sex comedy tells the story of a “straight” Texas fratboy who realizes that maybe all his man-on-man fantasies, going down on his buddies and falling for the only openly gay student on campus means he just might be queer. 4. “Harvest” directed by Benjamin Cantu (2011, 88 min., $19.99). Breathtaking in its subtle beauty, “Harvest” is an achingly romantic tale of an innocent but ever-increasingly passionate affair that develops between two simple farmhands. German with English subtitles. 5. “Queer As Folk UK: The Complete Collection” directed by Russell T. Davies (1999, 342 min., $49.95). 6. “From Beginning to End” directed by Aluizio Abranches (2009, 96 min., $19.99). A strikingly evocative romance of two men fighting against societal conventions. Portuguese with English subtitles. 7. “Hold Your Peace” directed by Wade McDonald (2011, 97 min., $24.99). A gay romantic comedy that examines how we decide who we want to spend the rest of our lives with. 8. “The Green” directed by Stephen Williford (2011, 90 min., $24.95). A teacher at a Connecticut private school thinks he can live a simple, harmonious domestic existence with his partner Daniel, a locavore caterer. 9. “Finding Me: Truth” directed by Roger S. Omeus Jr. (2011, 100 min., $17.99). Who knew Jersey City could be such a hotbed of gay drama? 10. “Finding Me” directed by Roger S. Omeus Jr. (2008, 115 min., $19.95). Can a budding romance and a few good friends keep him from making the biggest mistake of his life?
Women’s Books
1. “Hell’s Highway” by Gerri Hill (Bella, 229 pp., $15.95 pb). In this sequel to “Devil’s Rock,” Hill pits two remarkable women against the harsh and bitter desert and an implacable killer. 2. “Best Lesbian Erotica 2012” edited by Radclyffe (Cleis, 220 pp., $14.95 pb). Erotica maestro Radclyffe has assembled over two-dozen titillating tales of lesbian couples taking each other to new heights of happily bedded bliss. 3. “Sheltering Dunes” by Radclyffe (Bold Strokes, 264 pp., $16.95 pb). The pasts, presents and futures of three women collide. 4. “Trick of the Dark” by Val McDermid (Bywater, 397 pp., $14.95 pb). Barred from practice, disgraced psychiatrist Charlie Flint receives a mysterious summons to Oxford from an old professor who wants her to look into the death of her daughter’s husband. 5. “Fingersmith” by Sarah Waters (Riverhead, 592 pp., $16 pb). Raised by a loving family of thieves, orphan Sue Trinder is sheltered from the worst of the Victorian underworld until it becomes her turn to make the clan’s fortune.
Trans Books
1. “Take Me There: Trans and Genderqueer Erotica” edited by Tristan Taormino (Cleis, 291 pp., $14.95 pb). “There was something about the way she touched me that made it clear she was touching the body I felt I had rather than the one I actually had.” 2. “Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society and Neurosexism Create Difference” by Cordelia Fine (Norton, 338 pp., $16.95 pb). Instead of a “male brain” and a “female brain,” Fine gives us a glimpse of plastic, mutable minds that are continuously influenced by cultural assumptions about gender. 3. “Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation” by Kate Bornstein and S. Bear Bernstein (Seal, 302 pp., $16.95 pb). Part coming-of-age story, part mind-altering manifesto on gender and sexuality. Children’s Books
1. “A Tale of Two Mommies” by Vanity Oelschlager, illustrated by Mike Blanc (Vanita, 40 pp., $8.95 pb). A beach conversation among three children. One boy asks another boy about having two mommies. A young girl listening in asks some questions too. True to a child’s curiosity, practical questions follow. 2. “Dogs Don’t Do Ballet” by Anna Kemp, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie (Simon & Schuster, 32 pp., $15.99 hb, less 10 percent in the store). In this children’s book, meet Biff, an adorable little puppy who will stop at nothing to become a ballet dancer.
Women’s DVDs
1. “Circumstance” directed by Maryam Keshavarz (2011, 107 min., $24.95). Two teenage girls navigate the wild Iranian underground scene. 2. “The L Word: The Complete Series” (2010, 3,316 min., $132.99). In this amazing new 25-disc set, 55 hours of super-sexy and fun lesbian drama. 3. “Trigger: What Happens When the Music Is Over” directed by Bruce McDonald (2010, 83 min., $24.95). Two rockers reunite for dinner, the concert and the after-party, with the hope of recapturing their once-magical connection. 4. “Bloomington” directed by Fernanda Cardoso (2010, 83 min., $24.95). Jackie is instantly attracted to Catherine, a young professor with a reputation. 5. “Purple Sea” directed by Donatella Maiorca (2011, 105 min., $24.95). A scandal hidden in 19th-century Sicily between two young women. Italian with English subtitles. 6. “Elena Undone” directed by Nicole Conn (2010, 111 min., $24.95). When Elena meets Peyton, they form an immeasurable bond that shakes the foundation of their sheltered worlds and Elena is confronted with intense and unexpected feelings for a woman. 7. “The Kids Are All Right” directed by Lisa Cholodenko (2010, 104 min., $19.95). Lesbian moms have teenaged kids who decide they want to meet their sperm donor. 8. “The Real L Word: Complete First Season” (2010, 532 min., $36.95). Meet six of the most gorgeous, powerful and fascinating lesbians of L.A. 9. “Imagine Me and You” directed by Ol Parker (2005, 103 min., $14.95).