What I'm reading

1. Just finished Jeff Lindsay's fourth installment in his Dexter series, Dexter by Design. When his sister is stabbed in the line of duty, our favorite serial killer tracks down the person he thinks is responsible. But this time Dexter's made a rare mistake, and somebody's out for revenge. What's a psychopathic predator to do when the tables are turned and he becomes the prey?

2. Currently wrapped up in American On Purpose, Craig Ferguson's hilarious, heartbreaking memoir of his misadventures on the road from substance-abusing Scottish punk rocker to sober comedian with his own late-night TV show - and an American citizen. Enjoying it immensely, even if I'm never up late enough to catch Craig's show!

3. Next up will be An Echo in the Bone, the long (long, long, long)-awaited next chapter in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. I can't wait to see what Claire and Jamie Fraser are up to, as the American Revolution gets closer and closer; and whatever happened to their daughter Brianna and her family, once they returned to the twentieth century? I'm not even going to peek at the last page on this one - I'd rather be surprised.

How about you? What have you read lately that you want to tell us about?

--Nora

Which One Gets Your Vote?

The National Book Foundation is holding a Special Election! Between now and October 21, readers can go to www.nbafictionpoll.org and cast their votes in the race for the Best of the National Book Awards Fiction campaign. The candidates are:

**John Cheever, The Stories of John Cheever
**Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
**William Faulkner, Collected Stories of William Faulkner
**Flannery O'Connor, The Complete Stories
**Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow
**Eudora Welty, The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty

When you vote, you'll also get a chance to enter into a drawing for a two-night stay in Manhattan and a pair of tickets to the 60th National Book Awards ceremony on November 18.

Cast your ballots now - who knows? You might win!

--Nora