This guest post is from Lisa Roe, from Online Publicist. She’s a favorite in the book blogging community due to her love of books and willingness to trade free books for reviews.

My hand is duly stuck up in the air, my wrist working itself into a frenzy as it flaps my hand back and forth. Fingers outstretched, I accept my judgment and fate:

I have not read The Kite Runner, do not own a copy of it, and have no current plans to acquire it. *sheepish grin*

Trish’s review of Hosseini’s juggernaut (May 29), and her embarrassment at thinking she is the last person on the planet to cover it made me chuckle a bit. I feel as though I’m always the last one to hop on board the bestseller/classics train. And I work in the publishing industry! If it’s difficult for me to keep up, then there’s no hope for anyone!

I completely understand where Trish is coming from. I was in a bookstore with my boyfriend the other day and left feeling as though I have never read a book before in my entire life. As we walked past shelves and shelves of Coelho, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Lamott, Dickens and Giffin, our conversation consisted of, “Have you read this?” “No.” “This?” “No.” “This?” “No.” “This?” “No. Now leave me alone.”

Aagh! I was sure I had read a book somewhere along the way. I mean, I’m in my 30’s. I’ve gone to a number of different universities (Literacy does not equal decisiveness. ?) I’ve been dragging books along with me since I was a toddler and my pudgy fingers first fumbled with the half-inch thick pages of cardboard books. I know books!

And while I have a very rich appreciation for the Canons of Literature and Bestsellers, I am hosting a moment of rebellion. I pound my fist on the table and refuse to comply! I am very aware of how amazing a shared reading experience is. One that fosters conversation and encourages freethinking. It’s what my work is all about! My encouragement here is to point out that there is an average of 170,000 books published in the US every year, which is an impossible TBR stack to keep up with. And while I have absolutely nothing ill to say towards my unread titles or authors, I really only have time in my life to read 167,000 titles a year. Really now. I’m only human…

I now happily and unashamedly stand on my desk (thank you Dead Poet’s Society) and proudly declare the titles I have never and chances are, will never read!

• The Alchemist
• Catch-22
• Dante’s Inferno (but I keep buying copies of it)
• Great Expectations
• Harry Potter 5, 6 & 7 (I read the first 4! Does that count?)
• The Hobbit
• Marley & Me
• The Omnivore’s Dilemma
• The Secret
• The Shopaholic books
• Tuesdays with Morrie
• A Wrinkle in Time

What’s on your Not To Be Read (NTBR) list?