What's on the 2008 Candidates' Night Stands

Presidential candidates are seeing pieces of themselves in the books they've been reading lately.

Barack Obama recently finished "Gilead," a novel about an old man's words to his 7-year-old son. The man, in Gilead, Iowa, believes he's on the verge of death and wants his son to know him later in life. Obama, a child of divorce, barely knew his own father.

John Edwards, a former trial lawyer and ex-senator, read a mystery about a Harvard-trained attorney who sidelined a congressional career to represent a Palestinian friend accused of conspiring in the assassination of an Israeli leader.

Rudy Giuliani, former prosecutor and New York mayor, delved into a lawyer's drama of revenge set in the Hamptons — a tale of money, sex and murder.

Perhaps the most avid reader in the presidential field is Dennis Kucinich, who consumes about a book a week. The most recent pick: a fictional collection of Albert Einstein's dreams.

Mysteries and political thrillers were popular when The Associated Press asked the presidential candidates about their latest choices in fiction. Several named nonfiction books instead — a Lincoln biography for Hillary Rodham Clinton, a guide to biblical living for Sam Brownback.

And a few couldn't resist taking political shots with the question.

The AP is asking the candidates a series of questions about their personal tastes, habits and backgrounds. Today's question and their answers:

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What is the last work of fiction you've read?

DEMOCRATS

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden: "Runaway Jury" by John Grisham.

New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton: "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd: "The Broker" by John Grisham.

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards: "Exile" by Richard North Patterson.

Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich: "Einstein's Dreams" by Alan Lightman.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama: "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson: "The administration's energy plan."

REPUBLICANS

Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback: "The Dream Giver" by Bruce Wilkinson with David and Heather Kopp.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani: "The Beach House" by James Patterson and Peter De Jonge.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee: "My oldest son's screenplay."

California Rep. Duncan Hunter: "The Democrats' proposal to balance the budget."

Arizona Sen. John McCain: "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney: "Term Limits" by Vince Flynn.

Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo: "An Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore.