Unless they're four gorgeously written, painstakingly molded, amazingly rendered and undeniably memorable books. If you can pull off four of those a year, more power to you. But most can't. I'd go so far as to say no one can, the qualifier being good books.

If you're an editor like myself, you have a lot of manuscripts to read. If you're a bookseller, you've got to stay on top of what's being published. This summer it seems like most of the editors and booksellers I know are reading A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara's second novel.

Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch has its admirers and detractors. But what can we say about the sensibility of an author who writes a novel based on a sui generis work by a l7th century painter, Carel Fabritius, at the same time naming its central character after the brother of a famous post-Impressionist painter?

What ensues is a tragic and powerful tale of love and hate, tragedy and rebirth. Zilelian's prose is lyrical at times, but for the most part she crafts a purposely flat realism that perfectly complements her subject matter.

The suspense builds inexorably as Simon struggles to find his child, while clinging to the belief his son is not a cold-blooded killer.

Even though Donna Tartt's novel drops off the list this week, Hachette makes a somewhat stronger showing than they have in some time, with two titles of its titles landing within the top ten.