I did read Moby Dick, some years ago. I thought the writing was very good, but it was ultimately annoying as a story. And after a while the alternating chapters of inaccurate science got annoying as well. I was reading it the same time I was reading The Perfect Storm, which, as a work of fictionalized truth, I thought was a much better read.

Suddenly flashing back to that parody someone did -- DX? Tom Scola?

Yup, 'twas me.

Theodosia did a parody of the same paragraph, too. [link]

I read it back when I was - what, 10, 12? And was so unimpressed I haven't read it since. Perhaps my adult self would appreciate it more that my prepubescent self.

I do wonder if Clare would have liked Henry as much on first meeting him as she did, if she hadn't met his older self previously. It's possible that without the time travel, they might never have stayed together.

Ah, handy terms for the two types! I suspect I will be using these in future, I hope you don't mind. This is, as you say, very closed-loop; not only would it be bad to change something in the past (many open-loop stories revolve around efforts *not* to change the timeline), but it's actually impossible. You're right, he did say something along those lines.

I'm afraid that 'what would it take to make this relationship unhealthy?' is one of my fairly standard questions about fictional relationships; I think it has something to do with writing fanfic. And it really wouldn't take much in this case-- as you said yourself, Clare is strongly encouraged to be complicit because this has been so much a part of her life from such a young age. The flip side of that, of course, is someone who didn't have such a ... background, I suppose, of accepting time travel as a normal part of Henry's life, might not be able to tolerate it later on, and without that pre-formed connection he might not have found anyone-- though many of the characters who know or get to know him well seem to take the idea quite calmly.

I'm looking for advice on Hispanic lit. Most of my students are Hispanic, and I want to make sure that there's a good proportion of Hispanic authors and poets available.

I may not teach them all, but I also feel like I should have a good background in Hispanic lit, just to be well-versed in making suggestions, etc.

Thanks!

What age-group, Erin?

Erin, I know an English teacher friend of mine taught >The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.

9th and 10th grade.

I've read "House on Mango Street" and all of Isabell Allende's books, except the new Zorro, which I'm going to get as soon as I have some free income. I've read "1000 Years of Solitude" and "Like Water for Chocolate" and I love, love, love Neruda.

Oh, and "Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez.

But that's my extent of Hispanic Lit.

Marquez's Chronicle of a Death Foretold is excellent, and not too long or heavy for adolescents. [link]

This is non-fic, but a very interesting look at a fascinating woman from 17th century Mexico. [link]

I'm looking for advice on Hispanic lit.

First you need to decide what you mean by Hispanic: Spanish language? Spanish language diaspora? Latin America? Central America/Caribbean? Hispanic American immigrants & their descendants? If something is written in English by an American is the subject matter enough to make it Hispanic? I'll even give a complicated suggestion which points up some of the problems: Los Bros Hernandez' Love and Rockets series. I don't think there's much doubt that it rises to the level of literature, but while Gilbert's Palomar stories are an easy sell as Hispanic, what about Jaime's Hopey and Maggie stories? They are Latinas (Esperanza and Margarita) living in Southern California.