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Forum: The best New Year's resolution you'll make

While you are busily preparing for Christmas, I'd like to move the discussion forward a bit to the new year. I have a humble suggestion for a New Year's resolution: Join a book club. With this one step, your annual book-reading tally could shoot up. It helps make room for pleasure-reading in busy lives.

If there isn't a book club that meets conveniently near you (check your local library), then consider forming one yourself. I will help you with a foolproof formula. The book club I started in Miami is 20 years old and still humming. The one in Tampa is nearly 12 years old. It's filled with fabulous women I look forward to seeing each month.

Now, I'm guessing that many, if not most, of the savvy, worldly women reading this are already in a book club. (For some reason, men aren't as likely to join reading groups. My husband suggests that men view get-togethers to discuss books as one of those obligatory duties that men do for wives if they must. Really?) But for those who have dipped a toe in only to have a club dissolve, and for those who have never tried, let me share the secrets of creating a book club with staying power.

► Rule No. 1: Meet at a regular time every month. Groups that try to arrange meetings when it's convenient for everyone never get into a rhythm. My book club meets at 7 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month. This allows members to mark their calendars for the year and plan around those meetings.

► Rule No. 2: Limit the number of members and keep a roster. If you're looking for group cohesion, cap the number of members; otherwise, people won't feel that their presence will be missed and they will drift away. We try to hold membership to 12 - 12 meetings per year allows each member to host, and people tend to own 12 sets of flatware and 12 wine glasses (especially that last bit).

► Rule No. 3: Let each member pick a book as opposed to making a consensus list. Give each member a chance to impose his or

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Forum: The best New Year's resolution you'll make
While you are busily preparing for Christmas, I'd like to move the discussion forward a bit to the new year. I have a humble suggestion for a New Year's resolution: Join a book club. With this one step, your annual book-reading tally could shoot up. It helps make room for pleasure-reading in busy lives.

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