Is Modern Classic an Oxymoron?

Entertainment Weekly put out a list of the "Modern Classics" that are the 100 most influential books (that well-read people should read) that have been published in the last 25 years... I've read three of them. (Not sure what that says about me.)

2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)

Joanna (Lost in a Good Story) challenges readers to select six other books from the list (the full list is available at her website) to read before January 31, 2009, for her New Classics Challenge. Here are my picks, all of which were already on my "To Read" bookshelf. (Not sure what that says about me either... too many aspirations, not a lot of follow-through, perhaps?)

11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988)
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006), Review Posted 10/26/2008
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)

I think I'm going to challenge myself to get another eight books from the list (which I don't already have on my bookshelf to read) read in that same amount of time (give or take six weeks). Here are those picks.

3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987), Review Posted 10/26/2008
35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004), Review Posted 10/4/2008
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001), Review Posted 11/22/2008
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000), Review Posted 02/04/2009
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002), Review Posted 10/11/2008
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991), Review Posted 10/30/2008
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995), Review Posted 11/5/2008

Do you think you want to accept the challenge? Blog about it and then post your list here.