36. 
Title: Waiting for Godot
Author: Samuel Beckett
Pages: 100 pages
Genre: Drama
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Work Text
Date Completed: April 26, 2012
Rating:

37. 
Title: Simon Said
Author: Sarah R. Shaber
Pages: 220 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition: Borrowed from Amazon Prime
Date Completed: April 27, 2012
Rating: ***

Simon Shaw is the perfect protagonist for a cozy mystery; unlike other cozies, which dump corpses behind bakeries or in bookstores, Shaber deposits a 70-year-old corpse in the middle of an archeological dig at a college, where a depressed and socially awkward professor of history is happy to take up the research to put a name to the skull, and a name to the bullet inside of that skull.  As an amateur detective, Shaw utilizes his skill set as an academic and researcher, and pieces together the mystery in a way that is purposeful and conceivable.  While one of the two mysteries of the text isn't quite so meticulous, Shaw's own efforts are strong.

So why just three stars?  Shaw himself is repugnant, albeit far less so than some of his colleagues.  Emotionally crippled by the departure of his wife, Shaw is initially presented as a wounded animal, and lacks sympathy (when Shaw himself analyzes his failed marriage he can understand how his actions and decisions lead to the separation, and so can I).  However, such emotional frailty could be overlooked if Shaw himself wasn't such blatant a sexist.  Although a colleague in the history department is labeled a sexist, it is Shaw himself who proves far more demeaning and critical: the colleague dismisses women as a waste of time, while Shaw criticizes the "love interest's" choice of clothing, eating habits, and choice of beverages in a way that exerts his superiority over an independent and successful woman.  To Shaw, she lacks autonomy and instead functions as an inevitable addition to his life - after all, once she works through her far-more-complicated emotions he will be there to indulge in the relationship of his choosing. 

As much as I enjoy Shaw as an amateur  detective, his personal life is enough to keep me from pursuing the series.