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. “An Early Work Late in Life: The Art and Life of Danny Allen” by Bill Whiting (self-published, $29.95 pb). “A series of happenstances led local artist Bill Whiting to put pen to paper to relive and re-experience years of memories about his late lover and his former life. Whiting’s memoir traces his relationship with artist Danny Allen in the late 1960s and early ’70s in Rochester, N.Y., a time rife with free love and cannabis-smoking. The story showcases Allen’s art and writing, which gives deeper insight into the complex and talented artist who readers learn from the beginning took his own life in 1974 at the age of 28.”— Jen Colletta, PGN 2. “Phallos: Enhanced & Revised Edition” by Samuel R. Delany (Wesleyan, $19.95 pb). Taking the form of a gay pornographic novella, with the explicit sex omitted, Phallos is set during the reign of the second-century Roman emperor Hadrian and the historical account of the murder of the emperor’s favorite, Antinous. 3. “Walking on Water and After All This, Second Edition” by Thom Nickels (STARbooks, $16.95 pb). These two short novels are both science fiction. In the first, the protagonist lives in a surreal world where the power of his mind can create alternate universes. In the second, the characters survive a mysterious world event or cosmic event that “flashes” out the lives of everybody but a few. 4. “The Dream of the Celt” by Mario Vargas Llosa (Picador, $16 pb, $9.99 ebook). The Nobel Prize winner chronicles the life of Roger Casement, hanged in 1916 by the British officially for treason, but more probably for his “Black Diary,” which recounted his sexual encounters with the natives in the Congo and Amazonia, who were viciously pressed into slavery by the European rubber barons. 5. “American Savage: Insights, Slights, Fights on Faith, Sex, Love and Politics” by Dan Savage (Dutton, $26.95 hb, $12.99 ebook). On the heels of his Emmy-winning “It Gets Better” campaign, columnist and provocateur Dan Savage weighs in on such diverse issues as health care, gun control and marriage equality with characteristic straight talk and humor. 6. “Best Gay Stories 2013,” edited by Steve Berman (Lethe, $18 pb, $9.99 ebook). The sixth volume of “Best Gay Stories” explores the entirety of the diverse gay literary market. Editor Steve Berman has chosen compelling fiction that ranges from the pragmatic to the surreal, from such acclaimed authors as Mark Ameen, Jameson Currier, Alex Jeffers and William Sterling Walker, as well as moving and provocative essays by Peter Knegt and Eddie Sarfaty.
Men’s DVDs 1. “I Want Your Love,” directed by Travis Mathews (71 min., $24.99). One man’s last weekend in the city he loves, San Francisco. 2. “Yossi,” directed by Eytan Fox (2012, 85 min., $27.95). The long-awaited sequel to “Yossi and Jagger,” following Yossi’s life after Jagger’s death. 3. “Mixed Kebab,” directed by Guy Lee Thys (2012, 86 min., $19.95). Happily filled with contradictions, tall, dark and handsome Bram lives a mysterious life in Antwerp that is very different from his conservative religious upbringing. 4. “Sexual Tension:Volatile,” directed by Marcelo Monaco and Marco Berger (2012, 101 min., $19.95). A pulsating, sexually charged thrill ride, weaving six scintillating experiences of men in various forms of male bonding. 5. “Eating Out 4: Drama Camp,” directed by Q. Allen 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. This is the complete unedited version they couldn’t show on Logo! 6. “Mulligans,” directed by Chip Hale (2008, 90 min., $14.95). Straight college jock Tyler brings his best friend Chase to his family’s lakeside home for summer vacation. The Davidson family welcomes Chase but as the summer blossoms, unexpected attractions flare. 7. “I Love You, Phillip Morris,” directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (2009, 98 min., $14.95). The improbable but true story of a spectacularly charismatic conman’s journey from small-town businessman to flamboyant white-collar criminal, who repeatedly finds himself in trouble with the law and on the lam, brilliantly escaping from the Texas prison system on four separate occasions — all in the name of (gay) love. 8. “Des/Esperando,” directed by Erick Salas Kirchhausen (2010, 73 min., $24.95). This sizzling romance is about the lust we have and the entrapment of the lives we can’t leave behind. Spanish with subtitles.
Women’s and trans books 1. “Gender and Sexuality for Beginners” by Jaimee Garbacik (Steerforth, $16.99 pb). Examines the evolution of gender roles and definitions of sexual orientation in American society, illuminating how neither is as objective or “natural” as we are often led to believe. 2. “The Killer Wore Leather” by Laura Antoniou (Cleis, $16.95 pb, $10.59 ebook). A deliciously tongue-in-cheek murder mystery set at a leather convention, allowing readers into this private world of personalities and peccadilloes. 3. “Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetry and Poetics,” edited by TC Tolbert et al. (Nightboat, $27.95 pb). Gathers together a diverse range of 55 poets (including Philadelphian CA Conrad) with varying aesthetics and backgrounds. In addition to generous samples of poetry by each trans writer, the book also includes “poetics statements” — reflections by each poet that provide context for their work covering a range of issues from identification and embodiment to language and activism. 4. “Gender Born, Gender Made: Raising Healthy Gender-Nonconforming Children” by Diane Ehrensaft (Experiment, $16.95 pb, $10.59 ebook). Encourages caregivers to support gender-variant children as they explore their gender identities. 5. “Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society and Neurosexism Create Difference” by Cordelia Fine. Provides us with a much-needed corrective to the belief that men’s and women’s brains are intrinsically different — a belief that, as Fine shows with insight and humor, all too often works to the detriment of ourselves and our society. 6. “Being Emily” by Rachel Gold (Bella, $15.95 pb). Young-adult novel about Emily, who was born Christopher.
Women’s and trans DVDs 1. “Trans: The Movie, directed by Chris Arnold (The Film Collaborative, $20). In “Trans,” a moving and exceptionally well-researched documentary, we meet a remarkable cast of characters from all walks of life who are willing to tell their stories in the hope that they might one day be able to live ordinary lives. 2. “Romeos,” directed by Sabine Bernardi (2011, 94 min., $24.95). As a pre-op transgender person, Lukas is constantly finding himself trapped in uncomfortable, compromising positions. His best friend, Ine, introduces him to the gay scene in Cologne, where he meets the confident and gorgeous Fabio. German with subtitles. 3. “Mosquita y Mari,” directed by Aurora Guerrero (2012, 85 min., $24.95). This exquisitely crafted coming-of-age tale follows a pair of Latina teens who fall gradually in love against the backdrop of Southeast Los Angeles. 4. “Bob’s New Suit,” directed by Alan Howard (97 min., $24.99). The Goodlows are a typical American family. Bob is a landscape gardener and handyman. His dad, Buster, an ex-aerospace worker with a secret past, is now unemployed and suffering from heart failure. Sister Stephanie does the books for her girlfriend Marlena’s hair salon and holds a secret that’s just bursting to come out. 5. “Sexing the Transman XXX, Vol. 2,” directed by Buck Angel (Buck Angel, $20). This second docu-porn sensation consists of interviews combined with graphic sex and shows a much more diverse group of transmen than Volume 1. 6. “Tomboy,” directed by Celine Sciamma (2011, 84 min., $19.95). Tells the story of 10-year-old Laure (played by the amazing Zoe Heran), who moves to the suburbs and decides to pass as a boy amongst the pack of neighborhood kids. 7. “Big Lesbian Love Collectors Set” (321 min., $34.95). This quartet of top lesbian romances includes a gorgeous pair of Big Apple love stories, “The Four-Faced Liar” and “My Normal,” plus two equally fresh West Coast American indies — the smart and sexy “And Then Came Lola” and the legendary Jamie Babbitt hit “Itty Bitty Titty Committee.” 8. “To Die Like a Man,” directed by Joao Pedro Rodrigues (2010, 133 min., $24.95). Tonia is a larger-than-life drag icon of Lisbon’s nightlife in the late 1980s. At the peak of her career, she meets and falls in love with Rosario, a young soldier who’s gone AWOL. Under pressure from Rosario, Tonia begins a series of operations to become a woman, but the final step proves much harder than she could have guessed