Giovanni S Room

"He pulled me against him, putting himself into my arms as though he were giving me himself to carry, and slowly pulled me down with him to that bed. With everything within me screaming No!, yet the sum of me sighed Yes. " THUS BEGINS the tragic affair between the narrator, David, and the title character of "Giovanni's Room," by James Baldwin. This gay classic is 50 years old. In these days of out and proud people from all walks of life, what a difference half a century makes.

If we all heeded Aretha Franklin and treated each other with respect, Steve Petrow would not have had to write The Essential Book of Gay Manners & Etiquette (HarperCollins, 1995) and his just-released Complete Gay & Lesbian Manners (Workman Publishing). We wouldn't need to know that he was the first curator of the New York Times' same-sex wedding blog and one-time president of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association. We wouldn't need his website, gaymanners.com, or his nationally syndicated column, Queeries.

Here's a list of some other independent book stores you might enjoy. Each has a different flavor, a flavor that's made up of all the books stocked in each store. HIBBERD'S BOOKS 1310 Walnut (546-8811), Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m-6 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Hibberd's is the successor to the much-loved Sessler's Bookstore at the same location, and as such, is the purest example of a classic old book- lovers' haunt. Longtime proprietor Hayes Hibberd is carrying on the Sessler's tradition with a blend of new, discounted and some fine used books and a dedicated and helpful staff.

Months before he died in 1987, author James Baldwin showed up, unannounced, at Giovanni's Room, the gay bookstore named after his landmark homosexual love story from the mid-1950s. "I was flabbergasted," owner Ed Hermance recalls. "He looked around, autographed some books. It was over in 10 minutes. " Ten minutes and 10 years, to be precise. That's how long Hermance and his former business partner, Arleen Olshan, had been after Baldwin to visit Giovanni's, a fixture at 12th and Pine Streets.

Tom Wilson Weinberg's first hint that he had talent as a lyricist and songwriter came at the age of 13, when he won a contest for writing the best words to his junior high school's alma mater. That initial promise was a long time coming to full fruition: Weinberg, 41, is only now basking in the success of his first full-scale musical venture, Ten Percent Revue, which is playing at the Walnut Street Theater's Studio Five through Nov. 1. The show has received strong reviews in Boston, San Francisco and Philadelphia, the three major cities in which it has been performed.

Although I met him only once in person and ever so briefly at a cocktail party and reception in a Washington hotel about 10 years ago, I knew James Baldwin, the expatriate and gifted black writer who died of stomach cancer this week in France, through his works. My impression of Baldwin when I was introduced to him was, "Could this be the man who who wrote Go Tell It on the Mountain, Another Country and The Fire Next Time (his early works of the 1950s and '60s that had won international critical acclaim)

Tonight's edition of American Masters (Ch. 12, 9 p.m.) is not only engrossing, it also manages to do something I've never seen on television: It re-establishes the reputation of a writer. Titled "James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket," this hour-long examination of Baldwin's life and writing reminds us how important Baldwin was, as a novelist, essayist and moral conscience for the nation. Born into a middle-class family in Harlem in 1924, Baldwin died 63 years later, a world-famous author who had lived much of his life abroad.

Until January, AIDS books filled only one shelf at the bookstore Giovanni's Room. Today, they occupy seven shelves - an entire bookcase - with more than 70 titles. The increased space devoted to AIDS books at the store at 12th and Pine Streets, which caters largely to homosexual men and women, reflects what editors and publicity directors of several publishing houses describe as an AIDS publishing boom. "There are tons of AIDS books," said Dayna Macy, publicity director of Celestial Arts, a publishing company in Berkeley, Calif.

Forget "The Bridges of Madison County. " The love story blacks and whites, gays and straights, men and women have been stockpiling since October is "B-Boy Blues. " The novel's an Afro-centric, unabashedly sexy, fiercely funny look at a romance that crosses subway tracks between Mitchell and Raheim, two young black men. One wears a white collar and tie, the other sports Tommy Hilfiger drag. But, let's get one thing straight. Author James Earl Hardy, 28, does not want to date a B-Boy.

Walter Dallas knew James Baldwin well and worked with him during the last six years of his life. He was close enough to Baldwin, one of the most significant American writers of the century, to stay at his home in southern France, where the writer lived in self-imposed exile. Actor Reggie Montgomery talked to James Baldwin once - briefly, on the telephone. Montgomery was in New York, and Baldwin in Paris. It might be natural to assume that of the two, Dallas - Baldwin's friend - is more responsible for the creation of The Midnight Hour, a one-man play about the famous writer that Freedom Repertory Theatre is premiering.

If we all heeded Aretha Franklin and treated each other with respect, Steve Petrow would not have had to write The Essential Book of Gay Manners & Etiquette (HarperCollins, 1995) and his just-released Complete Gay & Lesbian Manners (Workman Publishing). We wouldn't need to know that he was the first curator of the New York Times' same-sex wedding blog and one-time president of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association. We wouldn't need his website, gaymanners.com, or his nationally syndicated column, Queeries.

Before the collective closet burst open, Truman Capote and James Baldwin were two authors who spoke to gay America not only through their writings, but also with the force of their fearless personalities. Capote was TV's fey mascot who could intellectually slay anyone in his path, Baldwin a black civil rights activist whose novel Giovanni's Room presented a frank, moving view of gay life. The writers are the focus of two one-man plays being presented in repertory by Mauckingbird Theatre Company this month.

Philadelphia's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community stepped in to help Giovanni's Room find a home in Center City in the late '70s, after the gay- and lesbian-interest bookstore was forced out of a previous location by a homophobic landlord. Longtime owner Ed Hermance, 68, said he is hoping that the community will pitch in again to help raise funds to rebuild a brick wall that is threatening the building's stability. Hermance notified members of the store's Facebook fan page that "the cost of this renovation, roughly $50,000, will not be easily paid; independent bookstores, LGBT bookstores included, have never been that profitable.

Months before he died in 1987, author James Baldwin showed up, unannounced, at Giovanni's Room, the gay bookstore named after his landmark homosexual love story from the mid-1950s. "I was flabbergasted," owner Ed Hermance recalls. "He looked around, autographed some books. It was over in 10 minutes. " Ten minutes and 10 years, to be precise. That's how long Hermance and his former business partner, Arleen Olshan, had been after Baldwin to visit Giovanni's, a fixture at 12th and Pine Streets.

With a tell-all book and an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, the story of former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey's closeted sex life, once nothing more than a rumor whispered through the halls of Trenton, has officially gone global. McGreevey, speaking about the book for the first time yesterday, described his written effort as an act of contrition, and said he penned The Confession, in part, to help other closeted gays. He repeatedly framed his own coming out in spiritual terms, describing his new life as authentic and honest - sentiments expressed by his friends and surrogates in the week leading up to yesterday's release of the book.

"He pulled me against him, putting himself into my arms as though he were giving me himself to carry, and slowly pulled me down with him to that bed. With everything within me screaming No!, yet the sum of me sighed Yes. " THUS BEGINS the tragic affair between the narrator, David, and the title character of "Giovanni's Room," by James Baldwin. This gay classic is 50 years old. In these days of out and proud people from all walks of life, what a difference half a century makes.

Forget "The Bridges of Madison County. " The love story blacks and whites, gays and straights, men and women have been stockpiling since October is "B-Boy Blues. " The novel's an Afro-centric, unabashedly sexy, fiercely funny look at a romance that crosses subway tracks between Mitchell and Raheim, two young black men. One wears a white collar and tie, the other sports Tommy Hilfiger drag. But, let's get one thing straight. Author James Earl Hardy, 28, does not want to date a B-Boy.

If celebrity is a religion with its own heavenly hierarchy, then the trinity of Oprah, People magazine and Barbara Walters has conferred a holiness on Greg Louganis that takes him by surprise. Everywhere he has been on the 13-city book tour for his autobiography, "Breaking the Surface," a flock forms, waiting in lines for up to 10 hours for 10 seconds of his time, going away giddy and sustained because he has smiled upon them, signed their books, clasped their hands, looked into their eyes.

Walter Dallas knew James Baldwin well and worked with him during the last six years of his life. He was close enough to Baldwin, one of the most significant American writers of the century, to stay at his home in southern France, where the writer lived in self-imposed exile. Actor Reggie Montgomery talked to James Baldwin once - briefly, on the telephone. Montgomery was in New York, and Baldwin in Paris. It might be natural to assume that of the two, Dallas - Baldwin's friend - is more responsible for the creation of The Midnight Hour, a one-man play about the famous writer that Freedom Repertory Theatre is premiering.

Some Backlash. Susan Faludi's bestseller about reaction against the women's movement notwithstanding, these may be the best of times for book-loving feminists in the Philadelphia area. A Havertown store caters to women dealing with addictions. Two Center City stores target feminists, lesbians and women of color. And increasingly, general-interest bookstores feature strong women's literature sections. At least where books are concerned, it seems that feminism is good business.