i was also surprised by their openness. and it felt a little rude of the husband to talk about the attention seeking like that even if it is true. that new volume cover makes me worried though.
if anyone is curious, the book she's reading is more commonly known as "the happy youth of a desperate country" by noritoshi furuichi. there does appear to be an english translation in existence, although i could only find it listed in academic libraries and not for sale.