Barry faced jail time, and this sword of Damocles hung over the couple, who kept the situation a secret. When an order for videos was shipped to Lebanon, Pennsylvania, the Masons were charged with a felony in a sting operation. “Circus of Books,” however, also shows that the business was not always an easy one. In one of the documentary’s more amusing lines, Karen tells her daughter, “These videos sent you to college!”
The Masons eventually started working in the video industry, becoming the largest distributor of gay porn. They reversed the store name and thought it would be a temporary job. They soon bought Book Circus, a store that was behind in its payments.
When they answered an ad published by Larry Flynt (whom Karen once interviewed, ironically), they started distributing adult magazines.
Barry had been an inventor - and has an amazing story about developing dialysis equipment using his movie special effect skills - while Karen had a career as a journalist. The Masons explain, not surprisingly, that they did not set out to own a gay adult bookstore. In contrast, Larry Flynt as well as drag performer Alaska, who was once a store employee, talk candidly about pornography and the store, respectively. Adult film star Jeff Stryker is interviewed showing off his anatomically correct action figure. Mostly Mason features shots of sex toys, naughty magazine covers and non-explicit video clips. There is also a cornucopia of porn in the film, but none of it is salacious. From the early days of gay liberation to the onset of AIDS, and the current internet era, the film chronicles how social change occurred in and impacted the queer community and America over the past 50 years. What emerges is a remarkable time capsule. The filmmaker tells the story of her parents using home movie footage, interviews with employees and industry colleagues, observational footage - such as Karen entering the store’s adult room or attending an expo for sex products - as well as candid conversations with her parents and siblings. They also opened a second location in Silver Lake. Karen and Barry created a safe space in the gay epicenter of West Hollywood with their store, Circus of Books. Their profession was largely kept a secret from their three children as well as their friends, given the attitudes toward pornography and homosexuality - especially in the store’s early years of operation. Rachel Mason’s frisky documentary, “Circus of Books,” available April 22 on Netflix, introduces viewers to her parents, Karen and Barry, who owned the title hardcore gay adult bookstore in Los Angeles for more than 30 years.