The Thursday Book Beat: Nancy Drew Series Deemed “Too Female” for CBS’s Fall Lineup

Welcome back to another week of book news, dear readers! We’re headed towards a long weekend here in Canada, and I’m looking forward to catching up on my reading. Happily, I’ll be bumping up Han Kang’s book The Vegetarian on my TBR to celebrate her winning the Man Booker International Prize! She is the first South Korean to win the award, and the first awardee for a single book, as the Man Booker International was initially given for an entire portfolio of books. Kang will split the prize money, a cool £50,000, with her translator Deborah Smith. Interestingly enough, Smith taught herself Korean after university in 2010, and translated The Vegetarian twice, improving upon her first try. I’m excited to read their work for myself!

Speaking of exciting things, Book Expo America (BEA) and Bookcon 2016 just wrapped up last Saturday, and reactions ranged from euphoria to exhaustion. Publishers Weekly covered Bookcon, a single-day event held after BEA, detailing the panels and reader/author/publisher interactions. Amazingly, the first attendee in line showed up at McCormick Place in Chicago at 3:30 am, and was soon joined by other dedicated book lovers. Some readers felt that the day was too short to really enjoy the convention, while understandably some publishers felt it was the right amount of time, especially after the intensity of BEA. Bookcon will again be a two-day event next year, when both conventions return to the Javits Center in New York City.

Reactions are most definitely not mixed when it comes to the Nancy Drew TV series that CBS has just rejected. Their reason? The show apparently “skewed too female” for the network’s taste. Not sure what “too female” is supposed to mean, but hey CBS, does that mean you think the world is “too female,” what with over 50% of the population identifying as women?

Jessica Jung eyeroll
gif found on tumblr

I’d recommend that the CBS executives pick up at least one of the books on Candice Benbow’s #LemonadeSyllabus if they maybe want to start addressing their ignorance regarding female representation in media. Benbow has compiled an extensive list of books and other media by black women, in line with Beyoncé’s hit visual album. The #LemonadeSyllabus will definitely be guiding my reading for the rest of the year, and I encourage everyone to check it out!

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Angel Cruz

Angel Cruz

Angel Cruz is a writer and boy band scholar. You can also find her at Book Riot for endless discussion and flailing over all things literature. Ice cream, Broadway musicals, and Arashi are her lifeblood.

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