This analogy of Archipelago to solitaire really irks the corn tassels out of my buckeye filled ears! I'm specifically referring to John's statement, "Reading through an issue of Archipelago is sort of a solitary kind of game. I conclude, therefore, that if 10% of voice cards are REALLY interesting, Archipelago will be a success!"

Is this analogy valid? Like much of the activity that surrounds Archipelago, reading is a solitary occupation, too. Is a great novel like David Copperfield, for example, a "success" because 10% of the pages (or words, or syllables, or whatever) are "really interesting"? Would another analogy be just as valid (or annoying, as the case may be)?

How about hiking alone on a mountain trail? How about looking at a sunset when you're taking a walk by yourself? How about writing a poem, a story, a symphony, or any of a number of creative acts, in the arts or otherwise? How about masturbation? How about menstration? Which ten % of those "solitary" activities makes them "really interesting"?

Perhaps I'm resisting this analogy so much because I'm not a big solitaire player myself, or maybe I'm just falling into prissy, cranky professor mode this morning, 5:00 in the a.m. the morning after Thanksgiving, my stomach bloated from too much pecan pie and stuffing, my back aching from an overly indulgent workout the night before. Or maybe not.