It’s no surprise that the ranks of titles swell before a certain wizard’s final appearance on July 21. New books by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge, American Idol winner Taylor Hicks and literary mystery author Stephen Carter are all positioned to entice book buyers with a credit card in one hand and the new Harry Potter in the other.

| JULY 1 |*High School Musical: East High Yearbook by Emma Harrison (Disney Press, $10.99). 250,000 copies.*How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? by Jane Yolen, illus. by Mark Teague (Scholastic/Blue Sky, $16.99). 100,000 copies.| JULY 2 |
The Quickie by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge (Little, Brown, $27.99). 1.1 million copies.
| JULY 3 |
Sammy’s House by Kristin Gore (Hyperion, $24.95). 125,000 copies.
*Football Genius by Tim Green (HarperCollins, $16.99). 100,000 copies.
*The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme, Book Two: The Thief Queen’s Daughter by Elizabeth Haydon (Tor/Starscape, $17.95). 100,000 copies.
| JULY 10 |
High Noon by Nora Roberts (Putnam, $26.95). 535,000 copies.
Heart Full of Soul: An Inspirational Memoir About Finding Your Voice and Finding Your Way by Taylor Hicks (Crown, $24.95). 400,000 copies.
Killer Weekend by Ridley Pearson (Putnam, $24.95). 150,000 copies.
Dear G-Spot: Straight Talk About Sex and Love by Zane (Atria, $25). 125,000 copies.
The Dark River: Book Two of the Fourth Realm by John Twelve Hawks (Doubleday, $24.95). 125,000 copies.
The Gatecrasher by Madeleine Wickham (St. Martin’s/Dunne, $19.95). 125,000 copies.
*Mercy Watson: Princess in Disguise by Kate DiCamillo, illus. by Chris Van Dusen (Candlewick, $12.99). 100,000 copies.
The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington by Robert D. Novak (Crown, $29.95). 100,000 copies.
*The World Without Us by Alan Weisman (St. Martin’s/Dunne, $24.95). 100,000 copies.
| JULY 15 |
*New England White by Stephen Carter (Knopf, $26.95). 300,000 copies.
| JULY 16 |
*Curious George Bigger and Smaller (Houghton Mifflin, $6.99). 150,000 copies.
| JULY 17 |
Up Close and Dangerous by Linda Howard (Ballantine, $25.95). 250,000 copies.
What Matters Most by Luanne Rice (Bantam, $24). 200,000 copies.
*Wizardology: A Guide to Wizards of the World by Master Merlin, illus. by Anne Yvonne Gilbert and others (Candlewick, $14.99). 150,000 copies.
The People’s Princess: Cherished Memories of Diana, Princess of Wales by Larry King (Crown, $19.95). 100,000 copies.
| JULY 21 |
*Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (Scholastic/Levine, $34.99). 12 million copies.
| JULY 24 |
*The Secret Servant by Daniel Silva (Putnam, $25.95). 300,000 copies.
*Warriors by James Harpur (Atheneum, $21.99). 250,000 copies.
Justice Denied by J.A. Jance (Morrow, $25.95). 200,000 copies.
Someone to Love by Jude Deveraux (Atria, $25.95). 175,000 copies.
The First Commandment by Brad Thor (Atria, $25.95). 100,000 copies.
Psychic Children: Revealing the Intuitive Gifts and Hidden Abilities of Boys and Girls by Sylvia Browne (Dutton, $25.95).
| JULY 31 |
Beyond Reach by Karin Slaughter (Delacorte, $25). 125,000 copies.
Up Close and Personal by Fern Michaels (Kensington, $24). 100,000 copies.

* = PW starred review

* = Children's titles

—With reporting by Raya Kuzyk and Diane Roback