Book excerpt: From Hollywood films to TV soap operas, from Vegas extravaganzas to Broadway theater to haute couture, this comprehensive encyclopedia contains over 200 entries and 200 photos that document the irrepressible impact of queer creative artists on popular culture. How did Liberace’s costumes almost kill him? Which lesbian comedian spent her high school years as “the best white cheerleader in Detroit?” For these answers and more, fans can dip into The Queer Encyclopedia of Film, Theater, and Popular Culture. Drawn from the fascinating online encyclopedia of queer arts and culture, www.glbtq.com — which the Advocate dubbed “the Encyclopedia Brittaniqueer” — this may be the only reference book in which RuPaul and Jean Cocteau jostle for space. From the porn industry to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, from bodybuilding to Dorothy Arzner, it’s a queer, queer world, and The Queer Encyclopedia is the indispensable guide: readable, authoritative, and concise. And perfect to read by candelabra. (The answers to the two questions above: from the dry cleaning fumes, Lily Tomlin.)