Political news for readers: July 17, 2025

Catch up quick with the politics-adjacent bookish news of the past few days.

• Here's a look at how states are pushing back — or trying to push back — against the rising costs of digital lending (The New York Times). 

• A veteran of the book publishing industry wants to know why big publishing has been silent on the Senate's vote to cut finding to public broadcasting — a place where you so often hear interviews with authors (Publishing Confidential).

• Brittany Allen highlights a few of the unexpected titles on the Trump administration's list of nearly 600 books it wants to ban from schools that serve military children (Literary Hub).