There are few lesbian couples who are as famous, highly regarded, and talked about in Rio de Janeiro as American Pulitzer and National Book Award honoree poet Elizabeth Bishop and Brazilian "modernist designer" Maria Carlotta Constallotta de Macedo Soares

If you're a sporadic drag queen like me, the pink, purple, and silver glitter palette on the cover of Jake Shears' new memoir should be enough to draw you in.

I wouldn't call voyeurism the theme of Alan Hollinghurst's absorbing new novel "The Sparsholt Affair" (Knopf), but it is its seed, its germ.

Below are six newly released books that have piqued our interest, followed by passages from each of them. Match the title to the prose!

In the new book "In the Presence of Greatness: My Sixty-Year Journey as an Actress," the late Oscar winner Patty Duke reflects on her extraordinary career and the many legends with whom she crossed paths.

I was well into Joseph Cassara's "The House of Impossible Beauties" (Ecco/Harper Collins) before I could identify what reading it reminded me of: Armistead Maupin's early "Tales of the City."

A dream by Tony Award-winning playwright and screenwriter Tony Kushner opens "The World Only Spins Forward: The Ascent of Angels of America."

Amy Bloom's "White Houses" (Random House) is a novel based on the historical record.

In this updated version of local chanteuse Bambi Lake's memoir, there are more photographs and commentary, but the core of the book remains a testament to the flamboyant, adventurous life of a unique and talented performer.

Patrick Nathan's debut novel "Some Hell" (Graywolf Press) had me holding my breath to new limits.

San Francisco author Lewis DeSimone's third novel "Channeling Morgan" takes readers into the mindset of a gay writer who discovers his "truth" in several different ways.

Readers should consider themselves lucky that gay writer and photographer Bill Hayes has two books for them to enjoy.

Critic John DiLeo's "Ten Movies at a Time: A 350-Film Journey Through Hollywood and America 1930-1970" (Hansen Publishing Group, $29.95) is a distinctive addition to the crowded field of film history.

Out of the past now comes Canadian mystery writer Margaret Millar in a multiple omnibus edition, the seven-volume "Collected Millar" (Syndicate Press, $99.99).