What I’ve been seeing each week is that the highly rated books, while mostly still quite popular (meaning they have good Amazon sales ranks), change little from week to week. They may move up or down a spot or two, or a number 10 may fall to 11th or 12th and another book move up only for them to switch places again the next week. In both categories there are 12-14 books that have been in the top ten for 6 weeks or more. Only two totally new (unknown prior to the start of this) books have cracked the top ten ( both gay works).

I reviewed my ranking criteria last week and decided to make just one small change to see what that would produce. Instead of ranking by the highest point rating (generated by reader reviews using a 5-star system), after all other criteria, I left the ranking set at the default, which is popularity. As I mentioned, in Amazon parlance, “popularity” is measured by sales rank. The results were very different for 19 out of 20 placings. The one book mentioned above had “crossed over” between my two sets of criteria.

As of now, I’m giving you both, highly rated gay and lesbian fiction for the Kindle and the most popular fiction for the Kindle according to sales rank and also reader reviews. For all the latest, see the Kindle page.

Happy reading!

The book is a detailed memoir of Kohout’s time as a gay man in a death camp. He’s a Holocaust survivor. Why was he, and so many other men like him, imprisoned in a camp? Well, a part of German law known as Paragraph 175 which was codified as early as 1871, was amended when the Nazi Party came to power to make sodomy and homosexuality high crimes akin to what we know as felonies today.

In 2002, producers Klaus Müller, Jeffrey Friedman, Howard Rosenman, Janet Cole and John Hoffman released through New Yorker Video the documentary film, Paragraph 175. It was directed by Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein and starred Rupert Everett, Müller, Karl Gorath, Pierre Seel and Heinz F. (no full name is given).

The movie is narrated by Everett. In in, we see footage of Müller, a historian from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, as he attempted to interview the approximately 10 men that were still alive at the time of filming. Surprisingly, while they do talk about Nazi persecution and being in the camps, many of the men also talk about what a haven Berlin had been for gay men before the Nazi regime. This is quite an inside out look at a mostly forgotten piece of history.

The film has its detractors. None of these, of course, are among those who were actually there and witnessed anything first hand. They’re simply other students of history who choose to interpret things differently. These men tell a powerful story. I’ll let them speak for themselves.

In talking with someone a few weeks ago about the book, I was told I should probably read the memoir, Geography Of The Heart by Fenton Johnson about his life with his partner Larry Rose before Larry was taken by AIDS by in 1990. My friend making the recommendation assured me that if I was touched by the person Gabe became in a novel, I’d be deeply affected by the story of both of these men and of Rose in particular. He was right, I was.

Geography of the Heart was written in 1997. Yes, I’m putting us all in the way back machine today, but trust me on this one. As an aside, Johnson has since gone on to write another memoir more personal to him, about his own spirtual journey, Keeping Faith: A Skeptic’s Journey, published in 2004 but we’ll save a review of that for another day.

In “Geography”, Johnson describes life growing up as one of 9 children born to a Kentucky whisky maker, and being a closeted gay and of Rose who grew up the son of German immigrant Jews who fled Germany after surviving the Holocaust. He details their just over 3 years together and, with much feeling, tells us how Rose, even as he was dying taught him how to love.

Now, I know I didn’t go deep into the book…I won’t. It’s a memoir and it’s Fenton Johnson’s story to tell. Walk with him as he tells it one more time.

If you’ve been reading, you know I’m a sports nut. The 30th Summer Olympic Games play out in London, England beginning July 27th. They’ll be followed two weeks later by the Paralympic Games in London. London is the quintessential welcoming city not only to the worlds athletes but it’s arms are wide open for its LGBT visitors too. Now, I’ve mentioned it previously but, just for London, for the games, the folks at Time Out have done a great guide that not only addresses the quadrennial sporting event taking place but it also includes, as all Time Out guides do, all the best in Gay, Lesbian and Trans hotspots. It’s appropriately titled, Time Out London.

If London and the Olympics aren’t your thing, there are certainly plenty of places to go. For gay men, we have the ever popular Spartacus International Gay Guide updated for 2012:

This edition of the Spartacus International Gay Guide features approximately 22.000 addresses on around 1.300 pages which are of interest for gay men. Whether these addresses are hotels in Kenya, bars in Hong Kong or discos in Buenos Aires no other guide offers such extensive information about places in which gay men can feel welcome and can be themselves. A refined code system, created as abbreviations and pictograms, offers information about that which one can expect and where. In addition each country is introduced with a short, informative text, which describes the legal and social position of homosexuals.

Now, Spartacus covers the “fun” stuff that’s very gay friendly (not necessarily lesbian though) but if you’re looking for something that not only covers LGBT friendly establishments but also what “else” there is to do, the ever trusty Damron Travel Guides have you covered. The men’s and women’s editions have both been updated for 2012.

The Damron Women’s guide has become even more extensive this year. I’m going to post the description below but I would like to say, for the record, that even though it is geared specifically toward lesbian women, I have straight female friends who swear by it when traveling alone and/or in pairs without men. Safety issues and comfort issues are always concerns for any woman. Too, some women just want to travel and enjoy without being propositioned by men. For all three reasons, many women, regardless of sexual orientation, turn to the Damron guide.

This 23rd Edition offers the most up-to-date and complete travel guide made by and for lesbians. Get the inside scoop on local lesbian hotspots from our unique city overviews, some even written by our readers! Includes: * 10,000+ listings cover North America, Mexico, the Caribbean, and major capitals of Europe, noting women-run businesses, vegetarian menus, wheelchair access, multiracial clientele * all information verified annually * International Calendar of Women’s Festivals & Events * Camping & RV Spots * lesbian-oriented Tours, Vacations, Cruises & Adventures * Info-packed City Overviews give the inside scoop on local lesbian hangouts & nightlife in major cities * plenty of listings for a diverse array of women travellers, including women of color, trans women, younger women, older women, disabled women, vegetarians, pagans, kinky women & more * covers the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, the Caribbean, and major cities in South America, Europe & SE Asia: Amsterdam, Bangkok, Barcelona, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Dublin, London, Madrid, Paris, Prague, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Santiago, Tokyo and Sydney.

The video says a lot about Zach Wahls. Now, he’s written a book to tell the rest of his story.  The book, titled, My Two Moms: Lessons of Love, Strength, and What Makes a Family was released last month by Gotham. It’s also available for the Kindle.

The interesting thing about this book is the layout of the chapters. Each chapter is titled as something taken from the Boy Scouts (motto, law and slogan) because Wahls is/was an Eagle Scout. I find that intriguing especially given our current climate of discord between the LGBT Community and Scouting over the recent ouster of a female den leader, Jennifer Tyrell, from a Cub Scout Pack because she is a lesbian. Wahls reminds us, in his book, what is good about Scouting and what an effect it and his moms have had on his life jointly. He shows that the children of gay and lesbian couples are no different than other kids, that their families are like other families. I think Maybe the hierarchy of the Boy Scouts of America should read it!

Is this a biography that’s destined to be a long term bestseller? No, probably not. Will it give you hope and make you feel better about “our” families – especially given all of the recent political rhetoric against same sex marriage, against LGBT families and even against  girl scouting for fostering a lesbian lifestyle? Yes, I do believe it will!

Charlotte is a divorced, 50 something retired FBI Special Investigations Director who, in her need to get away from it all in her retirement, moves to a tiny town in Maryland, Hopewell on the Choptank (it’s fictional). Formerly straight, our lead character finds herself falling for another female resident of the town, the box office star Brenda, who is returning to live in her childhood home. Now, I don’t want to take away from the plot but since this is an LGBT book review blog you had to see at least that coming, didn’t you?! Anyway, together they get embroiled in a proper crime solving mystery. Stowe treats us to theft, murder, and missing persons in this first installment.

Charlotte’s character is well developed in the book. I could picture her easily. So too is the character of Brenda and I loved everything about Sam, the dog who is a real key to the action. The story itself moves along pretty well.

I hate to complain, but I honestly feel that this book is entirely too short. We get only 99 pages of double spaced text. The background history is laid out well and Stowe does a great  job leading the reader up to all of the later mystery solving action with her first 60 pages or so, but then the ending is extremely rushed and told after the fact rather than allowed to play out. Though the crime is solved, real resolution isn’t forthcoming. If you read it, you’ll know what I mean. Also, we don’t really get to see the romantic side of the relationship between Charlotte and Brenda develop. Sure, they do some things together but then, at the end, they are together as a couple and that’s that. I didn’t want smut, I just wanted some sort of courtship or something…

Now, I’m aware that there have been 4 other books published since this one and that a 6th is on the way. I liked these characters well enough that I intend to read the rest of the books. Hopefully I’ll get to fill in some of the blanks!

Mom; I love you!

Grandma’s; I love you and I miss you dearly!

To my son; I love you buddy! I’m so proud of the man you’re becoming. Your other mom – Mom 2 as you call her, loves you too. Your dad’s fiance, Mom 3 as she has become known to you, loves you too. Did you ever, for a minute think that you’d have not one but 3 moms in your life? Crazy, huh?!

If you’re a mother, step-mother in a straight or lesbian sense of the term, the “other”mother in any sense or even if you’re one of the well intentioned but somewhat misguided One Million Moms who occasionally pop up with comments for this blog, it’s your day and you’re loved.

Mother’s come in all shapes, sizes, races, nationalities, religions, and sexual orientations. You don’t have to give birth to be considered a mother. Mom’s are the people in a kids life who are there for them no matter what. They’re that woman who is a guiding force in the tumultuous world of teenagers. They’re everywhere that you see a woman giving unconditional love to a child. Period.

Have a wonderful, happy Mother’s Day!

In my defense, I do 4-5 book reviews a week for this site. Typically, only one is fiction. That’s a lot of books. Additionally, I do other book reviews that have nothing to do with this site, as I have the time. Skimming and speed reading are the only ways to get through it all.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because I just read a non-fiction book, an autobiography actually, that I couldn’t skim. I had to read every single, blessed word. It was so engrossing, so interesting that I had to absorb all of it and I just couldn’t put it down. The book was A Queer and Pleasant Danger: The true story of a nice Jewish boy who joins the Church of Scientology and leaves twelve years later to become the lovely lady she is today by Kate Bornstein.

You’ll remember Kate if you’ve been visiting my ramblings for a while. She’s the author of the wildly popular Gender Outlaw Books, Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us (1995) and Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation (2010). Kate has defined for the world what it’s like and what it means to be transgender.

This latest book, A Queer and Pleasant Danger for short, gets us into the nitty gritty of her personal story. We got bits and pieces of it before but this is the wide open, sometimes raw, completely uncensored version. Kate began life as a young Jewish boy, Albert, with a prominent doctor father. She knew at a young age (4, she says) that she was meant to be a girl. This book takes you through her formative years pretending to be a boy and doing a great job of it, through the free love 60s where she thrived because she loved women (yes, a trans lesbian), through her 12 years with Scientology where she was attracted because she was initially instructed that all believers – Thetans – have no gender and on through excommunication and through her transition from male to female. It’s quite a ride and quite a story. And, for the record there are more than a few stomach turning bumps along the way. You’ve been warned!

If you want to read a review that will give you a lot of the down and dirty details about this book, go to Amazon and read the ones that are posted. My opinion? Ignore those. If you’re interest is already piqued, just read the book. With this one, you’ll miss too much good stuff by skimming!

Today’s movie review is the fun 2007 comedy, Breakfast With Scot starring Tom Cavanagh and Ben Shenkman as gay couple Eric and Sam and Noah Bernett as their, er, ward(?), Scot. Yes, that’s the way “Scott” is spelled in this one. What people do to their kids… anyway, I digress.

Eric is an former NHL Hockey player turned sportscaster. Professionally, no one knows he’s gay. Sam is a lawyer. He’s not so hung up on the closet, but he gets Eric’s need to have a he-man image in the world of hockey so he’s pretty good humored about not being out and proud as a couple. Then, along comes Scot and everything changes.

Scot’s mother passed away after a drug overdose. She had been with Sam’s brother at the time but he’s pretty irresponsible himself and Scot ends up “in the system”. He’s temporarily warded by the courts to Sam and Eric. Since Eric’s able to be around more given his less demanding work schedule, he’s the one who interacts the most with Scot.

Scot’s sexuality isn’t discussed in the movie but lets just say that “swishy” is a word that portrays his personality well. To Eric’s total consternation, Scot not only overtly displays all aspects of his swishyness without a care, but he also makes it a habit to say to people that they meet that Eric is gay. These things, of course, drive the closeted Eric crazy at first. Over time and through a few dramatic moments, Eric becomes more accepting of both Scot and of himself. Both actors do a first rate job with their roles.

This is a comedy with just a bit of drama and an underlying message of self acceptance. Other reviewers have panned it for the relationship between Eric and Sam not being more loving and affectionate. (Sam doesn’t have much of a role here). The family aspect is not what this movie is really about. These two guys go about their lives much the same way as most long term couples do. What this is about is growing as a person, accepting who you are and who others are and about loving yourself. Scot gives Eric that in his own funny, flamboyant way.

Extra Shout Out: Kudos to the Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Franchise for allowing their name and logos to be used in a “gay” themed movie.

Did the President commit political suicide and severely jeopardize his chances of being elected to a second term?  Or, did he commit to what a majority of American’s believe?Time will tell. We’ll know for sure some time on the night of November 6th or very early on November 7th.

This is historic! Where were you when history was made? Where will you be on November 6th?

Let’s Rock The Vote!