HORROR WRITER H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) often used the word “queer” in his stories. Old architecture, tomes of forbidden knowledge, and unholy religious rites were all described as queer. From the context, a reader assumes he used it as an archaic synonym for “strange.”

Making discoveries—sometimes unwanted ones—is the subject of McClintock’s memoir, My Father’s Closet. As McClintock, a psychologist specializing in family secrets and shame recovery, writes: “There’s such a fine line between intuitive knowing and actual knowing.” In retrospect, of course, all the clues about a father’s hidden sexuality may suddenly align, from separate bedrooms to annual solo trips to New York.

Toward the end of Jews Queers Germans, the description of the breakdown of government in the Weimar Republic, with the various political parties fighting for power, can sometimes be overwhelming.

If you haven’t read [Trebor Healey’s] award-winning novels Through It Came Bright Colors and A Horse Named Sorrow, his new book Eros and Dust is a great introduction to his work.

IF ALL YOU KNOW of John Rechy’s work is City of Night or Numbers or Rushes, be advised that his later novels, such as Marilyn’s Daughter (1988), The Miraculous Day of Amalia Gomez (1991), and even The Life and Adventures of Lyle Clemens (2003), are not only worth reading but far more entertaining on different levels than many popular novels by much younger writers. For those who clamor for a more “gay-themed” book from Rechy than the above, his latest novel, After the Blue Hour, ought to be the answer.