to watch for

As a reminder, books listed on a post titled "to watch for" are books that have not yet been published but whose listings sound interesting. Often, these are books that have just signed contracts and are reported in Publishers Lunch.

Percy Jackson's Next Adventure: An Exclusive First Look*

Drum roll please! Bookshelf hereby reveals the title and jacket (by John Rocco) of the fourth book in Rick Riordan’s mythology-inspired Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (Hyperion). The Battle of the Labyrinth will have a one-day laydown on May 6, 2008, the same day that Riordan kicks off an extensive national tour. According to Jonathan Yaged, v-p and U.S. publisher of Disney Book Group, a first printing figure has not yet been finalized, though he says it will be “significantly larger” than the 150,000-copy run for the third book, The Titan’s Curse, which hit shelves this past May.

“We’ve nurtured it and built it book by book,” says Yaged of the series. “And now we’ve got a phenomenon on our hands. Book four will take Percy Jackson and the Olympians to the next level of awareness.”

This fourth installment “really raises the stakes,” according to author Riordan. “It’s the beginning of a big war between the titans and the gods, and Percy must come to terms with his role in this perplexing world. There’s an invasion in the works and Percy takes his crew into the most dangerous place known in mythology—the labyrinth. This was a fun one to write.” . . .

Though Riordan has a great time penning adventures for Percy and his pals, this particular creative path is nearing its end. “I had always envisioned it as a five-book series, and book five will really wrap up Percy’s story,” the author says. “A good writer hopefully knows when to stop. Many of the series I’ve admired—Harry Potter, Jonathan Stroud’s Bartimaeus trilogy, Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy—had strong finishes. That’s what makes the series work—knowing when to stop and ending it well.”

THE CHANGING FACE OF WAR author and war historian Martin van Creveld's THE CULTURE OF WAR, about the different cultures of war, from its ancient rituals to its modern weaponry.

A group of former and current Onion and Daily Show writers' THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR DOGS, a how-to for dogs by dogs with helpful information like "The Importance of Stretching," "Begging: a Primer," "How to Handle a Mailman," and "Heroes of the Iditarod."

Chair of the religion department at Boston University and NYT bestselling author of Religious Literacy Stephen Prothero's THE GREAT RELIGIONS, rejecting the multicultural view of religion and contending that understanding real religious diversity -- the undeniable differences demarcated by religious boundaries -- is essential to understanding the powerful role that religious beliefs, practices, and institutions play in today's world, and EXODUS: How Religion Made America, tracing the central role that religion has played throughout American history.

Reverend Candace Chellew-Hodge's BULLETPROOF FAITH: A SPIRITUAL SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR GAY AND LESBIAN CHRISTIANS, helping readers reclaim their spiritual selves that criticism from society and religion has forced them to question.

*As reported in Publishers Weekly.