Pick Your Favorite Controversial Books Now - And Win Prizes!
To join (and get free food, parties with famous people and the cathartic joy of telling everyone your damning opinions) all you have to do is vote below. You have 9 dicey options. Choose unwisely!
Hello discerning readers and undiscriminating ranters!
First of all, if you signed up for this because you love our contributor Michael Stipe, well so do I! But anyway, where I was going with that was: If you signed up because of Michael, you can see some of his past contributions here, here, and here, or just use the search to see what he’s written and what I’ve written about him. I also highly encourage you (and everyone) to join us in the comments where all the contributors and readers hang out pretty much daily. You can write about anything you want or ask anything you want there - and we do. It doesn’t have to be related to whatever story is highlighted in the day’s email (what some people call a “newsletter” but there’s no way this is that). I don’t even care if you read my email or the story. Non-sensical non-sequiturs and disquietingly random thoughts are always encouraged, as is speaking out of turn, interrupting and interjecting. So join the writers and other readers in the comments sections as often as you like. I live there myself.
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Thank you so so much.
Now for Book Club! Here we go!
Love, Jane
By Amanda Long and Jane Pratt
[UPDATE: I'm back to add the following very urgent clarification. One reason you are meant to like all of the books that you are at all interested in reading here is because Andy's is in a category unto itself (duh) in that it's an option for anyone who wants to be part of giving him feedback on his work in progress. But we are still picking a book – at least one book! – from the others on the list to read and rant over together. So as I said, choose unwisely and vote early and often! Thank you! -Jane]
Let’s start with how reader/contributor Amanda got roped into putting together this second cycle of the AJPT Controversial-Books-Only Book Club with me.
Amanda says: Giddy from the first AJPT book-club gathering, a little gobsmacked that I got to hang out (even virtually) with an editor in my personal Editor Hall of Fame, and aching to do more writing thanks to what Jeff Bezos (Asshat Hall of Fame) was doing to my former writing home, I volunteered to “help out” with the next meeting. Five rounds of edits and 15 or 20 so book ideas later, here we are.
“One warning I have for you beforehand is that I don’t expect these books to be an escape or a happy diversion, or a breath of any kind of air.” – Jane Pratt, Aug. 1, 2025. I don’t know how Jane feels about me quoting her back to her, but I’m doing so with her statement from the original AJPT Controversial-Books-Only announcement to remind you of her rules for this club. Like members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, we are tasked with both nominating and picking our next winner. The books also all have to be controversial in some way. So after repeatedly and enthusiastically asking us for picks and pestering her friends in publishing, we came up with this season’s line-up.
From Jane: Unlike last season when we only had three measly books for you to choose from, this time we have 9 titles plus an exciting bonus offer I will explain below. I will put each author’s name in a comment and all you have to do is vote by liking the comments on AS MANY OF THE BOOKS as you are even remotely interested in reading. And if you have a new and better book suggestion than what’s on this list, add that there and we will all vote on yours too.
I’m sure there are some books on here that you actively do not want to read or do not want to even see on this list. Me too! So don’t vote for those but do vote for all the others and I will be back with our final tally next week!
A related aside you can skip: Something one of my Oberlin professors told our Modern Dance class seemed really deep at the time and then has actually stuck with me. She said that the least interesting thing you can say about a piece of art is whether you like it or not. So the idea here is not to necessarily indulge in happy-go-lucky escapist shit that we adore (which has its place, especially now) but to think and talk and agree and disagree – which you all are expert at already. One of the reasons I so admire you and listen to everything you have to say.
And the nominees are….
American Canto by Olivia Nuzzi
From the publisher: A mesmerizing firsthand account of the warping of American reality over the past decade as Donald Trump has risen to dominance—from a participatory witness who got so far inside the distortion field that it swallowed(!) her whole. Olivia Nuzzi spent a third of her life observing those in power. She became a reporter in 2014, when the political landscape began to reconfigure itself around a singular personality whom she was uniquely primed to understand. Over the next ten years, she used her access and eye for detail to chronicle his campaigns, trials, and government. Then, in 2024, her personal life collided with the public interest in a scandal that cost Nuzzi her job and reputation.
The controversy: Who doesn’t know this one? Just in case: Olivia got fired from New York magazine after revealing that she had an affair with Robert Kennedy Jr. while covering his campaign for the magazine - and living with Ryan Lizza, a journalist who was also fired from The New Yorker for “improper sexual conduct.” She refers to RFK Jr. as “The Politician” throughout. The Atlantic calls it a “Tell-Nothing Memoir.” But it was our AJPT diehard reader and contributor Cathy Alter whose comment made us finally choose the book for this list: “If we do pick Nuzzi’s book (which I am all for), everyone has to promise to send me your copies. RJK Jr. lives in Georgetown and has a free lending library outside of his house. I want to STUFF IT with Nuzzi’s book. My small act of resistance.”
Famesick A Memoir by Lena Dunham
From the publisher: In this rowdy, frank reflection on illness, fame, sex, and everything in between, the remarkable mind behind the hit series Girls and the bestselling author of Not That Kind of Girl asks whether fulfilling her creative ambitions has been worth the pain.
From Jane: Ok, Lena’s book isn’t out as we are announcing this - and I didn’t get an early copy to read or anything (even though we share a publisher - c’mon, please??). So I don’t know what about it will be considered controversial, but I’m sure there will be something in it that’s at least so provocative that it will help propel Famesick to be an even bigger blockbuster than it’s already obviously going to be. Lena is sassy so there’s no way she wrote anything safe. Also, we (royal we and self-effacing Editor-In-Chief we) just love her personally and professionally and every which way and want to read her book so if you do also, you can vote for it by liking it in the comments and we will find the drama surrounding it as we go. You can also preorder it via the link above, as I am because as I said, no free copy (just being a brat).
From good old Wikipedia (who finally corrected my page so it no longer says I was ever married, thank you all for telling them!!): Vladimir Nabokov’s 1955 novel Lolita is highly controversial for its depiction of a middle-aged man, Humbert Humbert, who sexually abuses his 12-year-old stepdaughter, Dolores Haze. The book was banned in multiple countries—including France, England, and Argentina—for obscenity upon release. It sparked debate over artistic freedom versus the moral, taboo, and abusive subject matter.
From Jane: Certainly fits the criteria! I've had a hard time convincing some of my cohorts in this book club of the value of including old books, but I'm going with it anyway. This is one I haven't read in at least a decade or two and think would be interesting to read now in light of everything. (It was also really fun picking which cover to show you here because there have been so many good ones – and some really cheesy ones too. I went with a classic but if we read it, you certainly don’t have to buy the pictured vintage $150 hardback.) Vote for it if you're ready for a read or reread. And if you absolutely don't want to read it, I'm interested in hearing about that also.
From her website, just an excerpt: Through Shrill—the book and then the Hulu series—Lindy West became an inspiration. To this day she is stopped on the street and hailed as a beacon of empowerment by women who felt badly for not conforming to a narrow set of societal norms—thin, straight, compliant. But behind the scenes, Lindy never felt like she was the self-actualized woman fans made her out to be. When she found herself in the throes of a deep depression, with her marriage and sense of self-worth hanging in the balance, she knew she needed to make a change.
Why It’s Upsetting The People, according to Chat-GPT:
The Polyamory Debate: Many critics and readers have debated the ethics and power dynamics of the relationship presented in the book. Some reactions have been harsh, with commentators suggesting that West was coerced into the dynamic by her husband, characterizing it as “patriarchy disguised as progressivism.”
The Content of the Book: The memoir details a “chaotic” period of their marriage, including early, difficult attempts at opening it up, such as instances where her husband would disappear for hours. The book also describes a solo road trip West took to process her feelings and navigate her marriage’s collapse and subsequent restructuring.
Reaction to a Feminist Icon: As a prominent feminist voice known for Shrill, some fans have struggled to reconcile their image of West with the vulnerability and, to some, concerning choices revealed in this new memoir.
From Amanda on the controversy: Like Molly Jong-Fast, who wrote our first controversial book club pick, West didn’t wait for things to get all better or even figure out how she, her husband and their girlfriend were going to figure out sleeping arrangements.
From Jane: I was just happy that there was a controversy because I really want to read this book, although I atrociously still haven’t read her first three – which I will rectify as a fun pre-read or co-read if we choose this. Anyway, want to read it (again)? Vote below!
All The Way To The River by Elizabeth Gilbert
What About It, From A Google Search: Chronicles the evolution of Elizabeth Gilbert's friendship with Rayya Elias into a passionate, codependent love affair, intertwined with both of their addictions. Deals with the pain of Elias’s terminal cancer diagnosis and her subsequent death in 2018. Details Gilbert’s personal reckoning with her own self-destructive tendencies and her path to spiritual healing and sobriety. Written in a raw, unpolished, and intensely personal style, sometimes resembling a journal, and includes poems, sketches, and journal entries.
Why It’s Controversial, from the same Google Search: Some reviewers found it excruciating, self-indulgent, and uncomfortable to read.
From Jane: Wow, I love Google’s succinct bitchiness. I never read Eat Pray Love but this sounds more interesting to me than that, and was suggested by a few of you. So up to you all!
From the publisher: One night. An ultra-elite swingers party. Multiple betrayals. And a murder that will shatter New Bethlehem’s carefully constructed facade. Enter a world of troubled opulence and sharp betrayal that’s reminiscent of “The White Lotus,” “Your Friends and Neighbors,” and “Big Little Lies”—a world of spectacularly badly-behaved rich people where money can buy anything… until it ruins everything.
Why It’s Controversial, from Amanda:. The author famously called onto the carpet by Oprah for passing off a work of fiction as memoir has been teasingly walking the fiction/nonfiction line in his press tour (and wearing a big-ass silver chain). His life in New Canaan, Conn., is source material, as is its wealth and cut-throat, cocktail-party competitive circuit.
And from Jane: This book is on here because even if it isn't highly controversial, as Amanda well describes (though I wouldn't call the Oprah-bashed book a work of fiction personally – we can talk about that more), James is one of the icons of the genre so he inherently is, and because I promised him I would include his book when it came out about a year ago, and because he wants to join our book club meeting when we talk about it, and because he once saved my life. Again, up to you! Vote with your likes - early and often (meaning choose as many titles as you want).
The book’s website says: “An astonishing memoir that explores how far we will go to protect ourselves, and the healing made possible when we face the secrets that terrify us and begin to share our stories”
Why it’s controversial, says Amanda: A cautionary tale of repressed memories, via psychedelics, made into a best-selling memoir, fueled by the circle jerk that is the Oprah-Book-Club-led publicity tour of rich people telling us to read books by their rich friends. Now at the center of a controversy for its questionable provenance. A former classmate of the bestselling author says “The Tell” uses a story from her own life and has sued. The “who is the ‘me’ in this memoir?” questions are coming from many directions…
Jane Finishing That Thought:… making it way more interesting to me than if it were just a legit integrity-laden truthful memoir. I had no interest in reading this book until I heard about the controversy.
The Emperor Of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
The publisher says: A young man on the verge of suicide is saved by an elderly woman with dementia, leading to a life-altering bond and journey of self discovery.
Why we are including it: Ocean Vuong’s debut novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (2019), faced controversy regarding its explicit descriptions of LGBTQ+ relationships and sex scenes, leading to it being banned in some Texas school districts. That novel has also sparked debate over “blunt-force ethnic credibility,” with some critics arguing it fetishizes trauma for Western readers. Emperor of Gladness received criticism from reviewers who labeled the prose “overwritten” or a “failure,” arguing it relies on a “forced” or “sententious” style.
I Regret Almost Everything, by Keith McNally
From Amanda on what the book’s about and our internal controversy around it: McNally, a Londoner, helped to create and shape the downtown scene in NYC too with his lineup of “be seen, be mean and be obscene” bars and restaurants. Then, late in his career, he had a stroke. I kept waiting for this book to find a narrative arc, or for the writer to learn something about himself. I’m still waiting. I’m glad I’m no longer on IG, as he’d likely take me down like he did James Corden.
“I Regret Almost Everything” Well, me too Keith. I regret downloading this “frank and funny” memoir. I regret that Jane is agreeing to include it in this roundup, but considering some of our lineup, it fits in with the “Oops, I fucked up, but I also have juicy gossip about famous people and friends in the New York publishing world.”
From Jane: That quote sounds like me and like the protagonists of all of my most-treasured stories! I want to even say bedtime stories because that sounds so lulling. And now I’m further intrigued. Also note that I think to guarantee yourself the IG terrorizing James Corden got, Amanda, you would have to inspect Balthazar’s special order omelet for egg whites like James and his wife supposedly did and then complain. I am going there for lunch next week, so I can order a yolk-only omelet and send it back and let you know how it goes. In any case, I can’t even decide on whether this book should be on this list, so that seems to qualify it. Vote your conscience, folks.
BONUS OFFER: Unfinished Manuscript by our own Andy(!)
From Jane: This is a little departure, but there are so many writers in our AJPT community that in addition to picking a published book to all read together, I thought we can also vote to look at and give feedback on a work in progress by one of our own, in this case Andy Finley. It’s called Frank Pickney Can Do Anything for Five Minutes. If you are new here (yes, you again, and thank you again for being here!), Andy has been a prolific AJPT commenter and contributor since day one, including the classic It Happened To Me stories he penned, entitled “I Pooped In The Pool” and “ I Painted My Dad’s Kitchen High On Acid.” (These are real. Search if you want.) So if you are interested in reading his book manuscript, vote for that too and he will get us all the pdf.
A note from Andy about the potential controversy in his story: The main character is a man who was severely abused by his ex-wife--who in turn was able to successfully convince him and anyone who would listen that he was the abuser in the relationship.
That’s it! So don’t take it too seriously but do cast a lot of likes so we can move this along to the fun part!
PS Speaking of fun parts, did I say that like last time, this AJPT Book Club season will culminate in a gathering at my apartment that you can join virtually or in person. With free food and drinks and Sassy Tshirts and other good stuff. Last time we did it at 9:30 am on a Sunday because of (the wonderful) Corynne’s busy schedule but now the world is our oyster and time is meaningless. So once we pick the book, you will get to weigh in on when is best for you for the party and I will schedule around that.
PPS If you want to show your gratitude to Amanda and your relief that it was her and not you working on this with me, you can follow her own Substack too.
TO VOTE FOR ANDY, LIKE THIS COMMENT
TO VOTE FOR LENA, LIKE THIS COMMENT