Candidates don’t often have a lot of downtime in the midst of an election.
But when they do, what are they picking up to read?
We asked the 16 candidates vying for the eight congressional districts that include Orange County communities to tell us about the best book they’ve read this year, and why it is compelling.
From the Bible to historical fiction, from Dolly Parton’s memoir to a popular LGBTQ+ sports romance, here’s what the candidates had to say.
California’s 38th Congressional District
Pedro Antonio Casas: The Bible. Why? John 3:16
Hilda L. Solis: “Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics.” Though more of a coffee-table book, Dolly shares very personal stories about the struggles she and her family faced, and how they are reflected in her lyrics. Hers is a true American story about overcoming challenges, whether they are personal, economic, or cultural. This line from “Coat of Many Colors” reminds me of my own upbringing, the third oldest of many children in an immigrant family: “Although we had no money, I was rich as I could be in my coat of many colors my mama made for me.”
California’s 40th Congressional District
Ken Calvert: The best book I’ve read this year is “Mark Twain” by Ron Chernow. I was struck by Twain’s journey from humble beginnings to becoming one of the most influential voices in American literature and culture. His story a great reminder of what’s possible through the American Dream. I couldn’t put it down.
Young Kim: The “One Minute Manager” by Ken Blanchard is my go-to. It’s quick, practical and packed with advice you can actually use. With my schedule in Congress, I appreciate a book that gets straight to the point!
California’s 41st Congressional District
Mitch Clemmons: The best book I have read this year is Gad Saad’s work on suicidal empathy. It is compelling because it names a habit I see in politics every day: treating every feeling as a moral command, even when the policy that follows hurts the people you claim to help. Saad’s point is not “have no heart.” It is that compassion without judgment becomes a weapon. Open-ended empathy at the border, in spending, and in crime policy can destroy the very communities that are trying to be decent. That matched what I already believed as a small-business owner: You can care about a person in front of you, and still say a rule has to hold, or the whole shop fails. It also sharpened how I talk about kids brought here as children. Real compassion looks at the actual person and the actual consequence. Performative compassion looks at a slogan. I want the first kind. The book is useful because it is blunt, readable, and hard to wriggle out of. In a year of political noise, that is rare.
Linda T. Sánchez: “The Sisters” by Jonas Hassen Khemiri. It covers four decades of a family’s history, including their immigrant roots, sibling rivalry, the thirst to understand one’s heritage while still fitting into another culture, and the random events that can forever change one’s trajectory. It’s a rich, sprawling family saga that spoke to me on many levels.
California’s 42nd Congressional District
Brian Burley: As a Trojan, the best book I have read this year is “American Trojan: Leadership, Resilience, and the Renewal of Higher Education” by former USC President C. L. Max Nikias. I found his lessons about resilience, principled leadership and strengthening higher education especially compelling as both a USC alumnus and an elected school board trustee.
Robert Garcia: “Heated Rivalry.”
California’s 45th Congressional District
Derek Tran: “The Best We Could Do” by Thi Bui. This book reminded me of my family’s story on a deeper level. Bui weaves her experience of motherhood with her escape from Vietnam and with the country’s history itself to reframe immigration as intimate, not political. By focusing on her parents’ choices and losses as she starts her own family, abstract historical forces like war and displacement feel viscerally human, and much, much closer to home.
Chuong Vo: “The Dash” by Linda Ellis. This book reminded me not to forget life is important. What values we have and what we pass on to the next generation are important.
California’s 46th Congressional District
Lou Correa: My job relies on good information and determining how such information affects my voting decisions and my constituents. Sorting through this data — and determining which data to use — is the task my staff and I undertake on a daily basis. I don’t read many books, but I read many reports and many, many newspapers, from the Orange County Register to the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal.
David Pan: Yasheng Huang’s “The Rise and Fall of the EAST: How Exams, Autocracy, Stability, and Technology Brought China Success, and Why They Might Lead to Its Decline” provides an excellent account of how the Chinese Communist Party’s policies are an extreme form of the top-down form of government that has dominated China since the 7th century. Back then, they set up an examination system that was used to choose government officials. The exam emphasized rote learning, and anyone who could pass the exam would receive a government job. The system drew all intellectual activity into government service, and the system has always had the effect of suppressing economic and social activity that is separate from the state. Today, no organization in China can exist without the direct supervision of the Chinese Communist Party, and this totalitarian system not only suppresses freedom within China but threatens freedom all over the world.
California’s 47th Congressional District
Dave Min: “Strongmen” by Ruth Ben-Ghiat. “Strongmen” lays out in great detail the ways in which various strongmen, ranging from Mussolini to Gaddafi to Putin, have been able to rise to power, and how they rule. As we strive to protect our democratic institutions and our most cherished American values, I think it is so important that we understand the history that undergirds the moment we are in. Dr. Ben-Ghiat’s book is well written, easy to read, but so full of important lessons for us.
Jenny Rae Le Roux: My family and I love the library systems that are available to us here in Orange County. This summer, I read classics out loud to my young kids every day. One book we read together was “The Black Stallion.” It describes ingenuity, creativity, and how to advocate for those you love against all odds, even on a deserted island. Our family fell in love with the book and expects to finish the series in the upcoming months. I also love reading about history, politics, culture, travel, adventure, and fiction. I was recently given the book “Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind,” which I am excited to read this fall.
California’s 49th Congressional District
Armen Kurdian: I’ve been listening to the “Battle Cry of Freedom” audiobook, an incredible history of two different economic ideologies and a failure that led to America’s bloodiest conflict, the Civil War. We can learn so much from history.
Mike Levin: I decided to re-read Robert Caro’s multi-volume biography of Lyndon Johnson. Some of the best books on American politics ever, which hold up to the present day. I am hopeful Caro will release the fifth and final volume sometime soon.
