THE LIST: DVDs, CDs and books hitting stores this week

DVDS

"I'm Not There" (R) -- "Inspired by the music and many lives of Bob Dylan," as writer-director Todd Haynes put it, this multichapter portrait casts Oscar nominee Cate Blanchett, the late Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere and Ben Whishaw as various incarnations of the often-enigmatic troubadour at different stages of his life. In addition to that contradictory life, however, "I'm Not There" also explores American mythology, the all-American practice of reinventing yourself -- and the even more all-American preference for mythology over truth. Like its inspiration, this movie is by turns impish, inventive, moving, maddening, teasing, tedious, clever and endlessly challenging.

Also out today: "P.S. I Love You" (PG-13); "Bella" (PG-13); "First Sunday" (PG-13); "Over Her Dead Body" (PG-13); "For One More Day" (not rated); "A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory" (not rated); "The Hottie and the Nottie" (PG-13); "Steel City" (R); "Carrier" (not rated).

CDS

Neil Diamond, "Home Before Dark"

The dude has spawned an entire generation of sequin-spangled fetishists who worship his every move, but Neil Diamond's latest disc possesses little of the sparkle of his surname. And this is a welcome development, as Diamond's new album is a dusky, introspective affair that's among his most intimate recordings.

Presided over once again by ace producer Rick Rubin, who similarly helped unearth the more humanistic core of artists such as Johnny Cash and Tom Petty in recent years, the album is as warm and inviting as the embrace of a loved one.

Also in stores: Mindi Abair, "Stars"; Clay Aiken, "On My Way Here"; Barenaked Ladies, "Snack Time"; Elvis Costello & the Imposters, "Momofuku"; Craig David, "Trust Me"; Gavin DeGraw, "Gavin DeGraw"; The Last Shadow Puppets, "Age of the Understatement"; Johnny Mathis, "A Night to Remember"; Luis Miguel, "Complices"; Chris Sligh, "Running Back to You"; Armin Van Buuren, "Imagine."

BOOKS

"The Host" by Stephenie Meyer: The author of the best-selling "Twilight" series tries something new with a story about an invasion of alien parasites and one woman's fight against the takeover of her mind and body.

Fans of Bella and Edward don't despair, Meyer returns with the final book in the "Twilight" series, "Breaking Dawn," in August.

Also hitting shelves: "Skeletons at the Feast" by Chris Bohjalian; "Audition: A Memoir" by Barbara Walters; "Careless in Red" by Elizabeth George; "The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series No. 4)" by Rick Riordan; "The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport" by Carl Hiaasen; "From Dead to Worse" by Charlaine Harris; "Killing Rommel" by Steven Pressfield; "The Man Who Loved China: Joseph Needham and the Making of a Masterpiece" by Simon Winchester; "Phantom Prey" by John Sandford; and "The Prince of Frogtown" by Rick Bragg.