A Glimpse of Arts Leaders’ Bookshelves : Literature: Reading lists provide insights into tastes of O.C. cultural figures and perhaps some summer reading tips.

With the lazy days of August upon us, Calendar asked Orange County arts-community leaders to name the last three books they’ve read to provide both an insight into the literary taste of the county’s cultural honchos and perhaps some recommendations for others who hope to turn a few leaves before summer fades. Here are their responses, including some comments, pro and con:

Thomas H. Nielsen, board president, Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach:

* “A Bright Shining Lie,” Neil Sheehan.

* “Third Century,” Joe Kotkin.

* “Bourgeois Utopias” Robert Fishman.

Nielsen, vice chairman of the Irvine Co., said his favorite was “A Bright Shining Lie,” because the Pulitzer Prize-winner about the Vietnam war describes events that occurred during his stint at the Pentagon, where he was assistant secretary of the U.S. Air Force in financial management.

Nancy Posch, board chairman, Orange County Philharmonic Society, Irvine:

* “Talking God,” Tony Hillerman.

* “Straight on Till Morning,” Mary S. Lovell.

* “Richard and Cosima Wagner: Biography of a Marriage,” Geoffrey Skelton.

“I’m a Southwest buff so I really enjoy Tony Hillerman,” said Posch, a self-described “professional volunteer.”

“He writes mysteries about the Navajos,” she said. “They are just filled with so much Indian lore and tribal customs. His latest is really very interesting reading. It’s fun, an escape.”

Ken Phebus, concert director, the Coach House, San Juan Capistrano:

“I’m in the music business, I can’t read!” protested Phebus, asking later, “Does Billboard magazine count?” He managed to come up with the following, however:

* “The Hunt for Red October,” Tom Clancy

* “Shoeless Joe,” W.P. Kinsella.

* “Diet for a New America,” John Robbins and John Helyar.

Anne Nutt, board chairman, Pacific Chorale, Santa Ana:

* “The Edge,” Dick Francis.

* “I Am the Only Running Footman,” Martha Grimes.

* “The Joy Luck Club,” Amy Tan.

Nutt liked the latter best-seller best.

Claudette Y. Shaw, board president, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach.

* “People Like Us,” Dominick Dunne.

* A collection of contemporary American plays, read for a play-writing class Shaw took recently at South Coast Repertory theater.

* A compilation of articles on Eastern Europe from the Journal of American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which was required reading for a summer class Shaw is attending through an alumni program at Stanford University.

“It’s a very boring history book” that acted as a nightly soporific, she said.

Richard G. Sim, board chairman, Irvine Barclay Theatre Operating Co., Irvine.

* “Barbarians at the Gate,” Bryan Burrough.

* “The Last Lion, Part II” William Manchester.

* “The Cardinal of the Kremlin,” Tom Clancy.

Sim, president, investment properties group, the Irvine Co., enjoyed “The Last Lion,” a biography of Winston Churchill that spans 1932 through 1940, when the great leader faced scorn for his unpopular warning of the Nazi threat.

“It was just fascinating to see how he maintained all the liaisons he managed to maintain with people in government and the military . . . during the years he was really out of power,” Sim said.

Patrick Rhodes, board chairman, Orange County Black Actors Theatre, Santa Ana.

* “Mandela, the Man and his Movement,” Mary Benson.

* “I Dream a World,” Brian Lanker.

Rhodes bought Lanker’s anthology for his wife but ended up reading it himself. A series of “portraits of Black women who have helped America,” it profiles singer Lena Horne, Coretta Scott King, wife of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., former Cal State Fullerton President Jewell Plummer Cobb and others.

Scott Carnahan, board president, Ballet Pacifica, Laguna Beach:

* “The Bonfire of the Vanities,” Tom Wolfe.

* “The Russia House,” John le Carre..

* “Final Flight,” Stephen Coonts.

Unlike the masses who made Wolfe’s book another best seller, Carnahan didn’t much care for “Bonfire,” the page-turner about a Wall Street winner accused of murder who had it all and lost it all.

“It had a weak lead character--he’s a pussy, mealy mouthed,” Carnahan said. “I know bond traders and none of them are like that. They’re all cocky as hell.”

John Stahr, president, South Coast Repertory, Costa Mesa:

* “Grant: A Biography,” William McPheeley.

* “Coyote Waits,” Tony Hillerman.

* “I Want It Now,” Kingsly Amis.

Another Hillerman fan, Stahr preferred “Coyote Waits” over the rest. “Tribal ways are very interesting to people who are not Indian,” he said.

Randy Johnson, board president, Pacific Symphony, Irvine.

* “Liars Poker,” Michael Lewis.

* “Burden of Proof,” Scott Turow.

* “Red Phoenix,” Larry Bond.

Turow’s murder mystery, his second best-seller after “Presumed Innocent,” “is one of the finest character studies I’ve ever read,” Johnson said.

Mrs. Edward W. (Floss) Schumacher, board chairwoman, Opera Pacific, Costa Mesa:

* “My Turn,” Nancy Reagan.

* “Dick Tracy: How They Made the Movie.”

Schumacher, who could not remember the author of the Dick Tracy book, said it explained how Hollywood technicians used movie magic to make actors resemble the comic strip’s weird cast of characters.

“This book shows how they did the makeup and the hair (to create) all the characters. Being a show biz person, this was very interesting to me.”