avva talked me into reading a novel called Changing Places by one David Lodge. It's a hilarious story about two professors of English Lit., one English and the other American, who change places for a semester. The book, and its brilliant sequel Small World, have given me a taste for novels about academia. Consequently, I've recently purchased a few books in the genre, specifically recommended by Philip Greenspun, one of my favorite scientists.So I've begun reading Straight Man by Richard Russo. Haven't read enough to say much more, but the prose is light and funny so far.
I'm firmly resisting the temptation to also begin the old Hebrew translation of Bulgakov's Master and Margarita, called The Devil in Moscow in Hebrew. It was translated by "A.R.", and is the censored version of the text, dating back to the sixties. I have read Master and Margarita in Peter Kriksonov's recent translation of the complete version, and enjoyed it very much. However, an acquaintance whose literary acumen and taste I have come to respect insists that Kriksonov has butchered Bulgakov's prose, and that I absolutely must read the older translation to get a whiff of Bulgakov until I pick up Russian. So I bought the older translation recently. Like I said, though, I'm resisting the urge, because I'm in the middle of too many books. Lamentably, my willpower is very limited when it comes to books...