History buffs will want to keep an eye on A House Divided, Linda Wheeler's blog for Civil War enthusiasts. Wheeler delves into all issues of interest, from reenactment squabbles to battlefield preservation. She also provides a heads up on upcoming Civil War-related books and events.

Bibliophiles can make themselves at home in Dirda's Reading Room, a new discussion group for book lovers. Whether you seek a recommendation for something to read over the holidays or want to reminisce about favorite children's books (Nancy Drew, unsurprisingly, has quite a following), this where you'll meet like-minded souls. You can even suggest future topics for discussion here.

As Washington prepares for the arrival of a new administration, The Fed Page provides an in-depth look at the inner workings of government. The page gathers the latest news on the federal workforce, with information for government employees, contractors, or those who want to follow the comings and goings of officials during the transition. Features include Ed O'Keefe's Federal Eye, a blog that goes behind the scenes of the bureaucracy, and Federal Career Talk, a discussion group for employee issues moderated by Federal Diary columnist Joe Davidson. Readers can also get details on federal job openings, current pay scales, and contracting and procurement information.

It's one of the things employees dread most: negotiating salary. Learn how to get what you're worth with tips from the pros, from basic strategies to sample conversations. Check out the discussion transcripts for expert advice on specific salary questions.

Longtime Post columnist John Kelly is back. Join his conversation on "the other Washington" at Kelly's Commons, where the topic is anything relating to life in the nation's capital. Do those drivers who coast in the left lane of the Beltway drive you nuts? This is your place to sound off. You can also participate in John's live discussion Fridays at noon.

Washingtonpost.com's Travis Fox is traveling across the country to see how the recent economic downturn might influence the way Americans vote in the 2008 presidential election. Among the stops so far in this Hard Times video series: Santa Barbara, Calif., where a homeless family lives in an RV near the beach; Sun City, Ariz., whose residents are facing diminished retirement funds; and Colesburg, Iowa, with a local bank that's fared better than many national ones. He found many prospective voters, like this Milwaukee retailer, who are still making up their minds.

TimeSpace: Election is a map and timeline that gathers washingtonpost.com's presidential election coverage (including articles, polling, blog posts, videos, photos, audio and tweets) onto a single, easy-to-navigate page. To see news from a particular location, click on a hot spot on the map, which allows you to read article excerpts or view photos and video without leaving the page. Use the timeline to filter news by date if you're looking for the latest poll numbers or coverage of a specific event. You can also search by keyword to narrow the results even more.

Confirm your registration status, find your polling place or learn what kind of voting machine you'll use in our Local Elections Guide 2008. Voters in the District, Maryland and Virginia can see full slates of candidates, plus Post coverage of key issues like Maryland's slots referendum. There's also a local take on the national campaigns in Virginia, USA, which focuses on the state's role as a battleground in this year's presidential race.

If you're planning to blog, photograph, record or otherwise take note of next week's election, then your posts can be a part of The Post's election coverage, thanks to a partnership with the socialmedian.com news networking site.

Just browse to this Washington Post page on socialmedian and add your blog, Twitter, Flickr or YouTube RSS to the Election 2008 news network. Whatever you post on Election Day and the day after will appear on washingtonpost.com pages devoted to user views of the election -- and on other sites, including guardian.com, that grab the Election 2008 display widget.

Here's what the widget will look like on our site:

Washington Post reporter Michael Alison Chandler is doing something many of us would rather not: reliving high school math. Every other day at 7:20 a.m., she joins 27 other Fairfax High School students for Algebra II. Chandler shares the results in x=why?, a blog designed to "bridge the cultural divide" between those who get it and those who don't. With national test scores, global competition and high-tech jobs making news, it's a conversation about how math education might translate to "the real world."