Hot Sheet: Cruise, Shears, and Hate Crimes

Books

Fifth Avenue, 5 a.m.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman by Sam Wasson — More than just a compendium of minutiae (some well-known: Marilyn Monroe was the first choice to play Holly Golightly, some not: leading man George Peppard was despised on set) surrounding the beloved Truman Capote novella and the 1961 film adaptation, Wasson draws on interviews with producers and Capote biographers to present a fascinating peek into why the sophisticated tale continues to hold us under its spell. (HarperStudio, $19.99)

I Was Born This Way by Carl Bean — In this often amusing and illuminating autobiography, named for his disco anthem and subtitled A Gay Preacher's Journey Through Gospel Music, Disco Stardom, and a Ministry in Christ, the Motown artist-turned-evangelist tracks his journey from the music charts to the pulpit. Along the way Bean found time to become a renowned AIDS activist and respected community leader. (Simon & Schuster, $24),

She Looks Just Like You: A Memoir of (Nonbiological Lesbian) Motherhood by Amie Klempnauer Miller — One lesbian always imagined herself as a mother, but never in the role of a nonbiological stay-at-home,mom. Miller shares her sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes uplifting tale about searching for her new identity as a parent and partner in her 18-year relationship, where everything is suddenly brand-new. (Beacon, $24.95)