Usha Vance Has An Eclectic Mix Of Favorite Books

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As the second lady of the United States and a soon-to-be mother of four, you wouldn't think Usha Vance has much free time for reading, but her Goodreads page says otherwise. The wife of Vice President JD Vance has over 125 books listed on her profile, spanning a wide range of genres, from classic literature and historical fiction, to notable memoirs and mystery novels. She even has a highly controversial book listed among her five-star reads. (No, we're not talking about Kristi Noem's memoir that caused a stir before it even hit shelves). 

Vance's favorite books of course include her husband's own, "Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis," which was published in 2016. But Vance has also added some fan-favorite sci-fi and dystopian novels to her Goodreads shelves as well, including Suzanne Collins' "Hunger Games" prequel "Sunrise on the Reaping" and Andy Weir's "Project Hail Mary." With an eclectic collection of favorite reads, Vance is undeniably well-read, and her highest-rated books prove just that.

Among Usha Vance's five-star ratings is none other than the timeless classic "Persuasion" by Jane Austen. A romance novel published posthumously in 1817, "Persuasion" follows the story of Anne Elliot, who is 27 years old and still unmarried after having been persuaded into calling off her engagement with naval officer Frederick Wentworth seven years earlier. The regrettable decision still haunts her years later, as she believes her opportunity for romance has passed her by — that is until Captain Wentworth returns home on leave, and Anne is faced with the potential of a second chance at love.

"Persuasion," Austen's last novel to be completed before her death, is described as a "moving, masterly and elegiac love story tinged with the heartache of missed opportunities," according to Penguin Books. With an average rating of 4.15 stars on Goodreads, "Persuasion" has been added to over 1.7 million virtual shelves on the book-tracking website — including a spot in Usha Vance's collection of favorite books. It only makes sense that Vance would appreciate such a classic piece of literature, considering she is both an Ivy League alum and an avid reader. Her love of reading has even inspired her initiative as second lady to promote childhood literacy. 

Another one of Usha Vance's five-star reads is "Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink," an anthology of essays, stories, poems, and articles all centering around food and drink. Edited by David Remnick, this delicious collection features works by a number of impressive authors, including culinary experts like the late Anthony Bourdain, as well as accomplished writers like Malcolm Gladwell, Nora Ephron, Roald Dahl, and many, many more.

With an average Goodreads rating of 4.04 stars, it's no surprise that Usha Vance has included "Secret Ingredients" among her favorite books, especially considering cooking homemade meals is a major part of the second lady's healthy lifestyle. As a lifelong vegetarian, prioritizing healthy, holistic foods is partly how Usha Vance keeps her stunning figure, even if her husband doesn't always follow in her vegetarian ways. The vice president, however, is said to be "very experimental" when it comes to traditional Indian cuisine, according to his wife, who told NDTV Food, "Whatever strikes his fancy, he goes and finds the right recipe and prepares it."

Usha Vance's glowing review of "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" proves that she enjoys reading stories inspired by real people. With several books on her Goodreads shelf that are rooted in history, Vance awarded five stars to Aleksander Solzhenitsyn's 1962 historical fiction novel, which is based on the Russian author's real-life experiences as a prisoner at a Soviet labor camp in Siberia in the 1950s.

The story, which BBC News dubbed "The book that shook the USSR," shines a light on the real events that were happening in the Soviet Gulag system during Joseph Stalin's reign, when widespread censorship often stopped the truth from reaching the public. Solzhenitsyn's story served as a staggering exposé, and is now considered to be one of the "most significant books of the 20th century," per the BBC. It has an average rating of 3.98 stars on Goodreads, and also helped earn Solzhenitsyn the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970. It's interesting that Vance would feature a book about Russian history and politics on her list of favorites, as her husband is now directly involved in foreign relations as vice president, liaising with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other world leaders on numerous occasions. 

Perhaps one of the more eccentric books on Usha Vance's list of favorites is Vladimir Nabokov's controversial 1955 novel "Lolita." With an average Goodreads rating of 3.87 stars, Vance rated "Lolita" with a whopping five stars, which could be considered a hot take when taking the story's provocative subject matter into account. The book centers around a middle-aged professor, Humbert Humbert, who finds himself obsessed with 12-year-old Dolores Haze, whom he nicknames "Lolita." The narrator ends up with total control of Lolita after kidnapping her, while the story twists into a tale of "obsession, manipulation, and the destructiveness of an adult's sexual fixation on a child," as described by Audible.

Though likely distasteful to some, Vance is certainly not alone in her appreciation for the Nabokov novel, as "Lolita" is still regarded as a highly-acclaimed piece of literature. It was even a finalist for the National Book Award in 1959, and has been included on several lists of the best novels of the 20th century.

Another top-rated book for Usha Vance is "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love," a collection of short stories by author Raymond Carver. The 1981 publication consists of 17 short stories that deliver a "haunting meditation on love, loss, and companionship, and finding one's way through the dark" according to Penguin Random House. The average Goodreads rating of Carver's work is 4.0 stars, while Vance opted for a rave review of five stars.

The second lady is no stranger to stories about love, as she and the vice president have been married for over a decade, after meeting in law school in the 2010s and tying the knot in 2014. Even though Usha and JD Vance have stirred up divorce rumors more than a few times, the longtime couple announced in January 2026 that they were expecting their fourth child together, a baby boy, who will be joining the Vance's other two sons, Ewan and Vivek, as well as their daughter, Mirabel.