What are you reading?

"Boomsday," a comedy by Christopher Buckley about a violent revolution over the Social Security issue. It starts out believable and then quickly walks off a cliff and gets hysterically funny. ... And then two that I'm in the middle of — one is "Means of Ascent" by Robert Caro, about the beginning of Lyndon Johnson's political career. ... The other is "The Man Who Ate Everything" by Jeffrey Steingarten, a collection of essays about food. ... In terms of hours a day I spend reading, though, I probably spend the most time on the New York Times and gathering information about politics. ...

What do you like about them?

The Johnson book is excellent, but it's like watching a very well-made but depressing movie, because the author puts you in the room, effectively, and what goes on in Lyndon Johnson's early years is nauseating. ... But whether it's fiction or nonfiction, I want the characters to be relatable to me, and most of the main characters in Buckley's novel are sympathetic and passionate, but they have their flaws. That's what I like to see.

Is that your approach in politics and at Helping Hands — be passionate and driven but recognize your own flaws?

I think that nobody's perfect, and that the more aware you are of your flaws, the better leader you can be. And so sometimes looking at other people's flaws in a literary context helps me to reflect on what I need to work on. ... I'm very happy with Helping Hands Hawai'i; we're having a good year expanding our services. And I will continue to look for opportunities to be involved in public service through politics. It's too early to tell exactly how.