I admit, I don’t join a lot of reading challenges. I usually host two challenges per year (Fall Into Reading and Spring Reading Thing), and in between those challenges, I’m often ready to enjoy some unstructured, rambling reading.

But there are two reading challenges in the works this year that I simply couldn’t resist.

You already know I like to read mystery books, right? Well, that appreciation for a good mystery didn’t just appear when I was 18 or 25 or 32. I’ve been reading mystery books for as long as I’ve been reading, I think. I clearly remember scouring the children’s section of our public library, looking for something intriguing, something exciting, something…mysterious. And, like other mystery-loving kids, I quickly settled on a few favorite mystery series.

Which is where these two reading challenges come into play.

First up is the Nancy Drew Challenge hosted by Deborah.  Essentially, Deborah is challenging us to read the 56 yellow-spine hardcover Nancy Drew mysteries during 2010. It just so happens that I absolutely loved Nancy Drew mysteries when I was a kid, and I happen to have 22 of the yellow-spine hardcovers in my basement at this very moment.  Initially, I kept them to one day pass on to my daughter, but since it now turns out that I only have sons…well, that plan didn’t work out. However, I haven’t been able to bring myself to pass them on to another family just yet, but I guess that’s a good thing, since I’ll have a good starting point for this challenge.

Confession: I don’t know if I’ll actually get through all 56 of the Nancy Drew books in this challenge. But I’ll start with what I have and see how far I get.

The other challenge I’m excited to be joining is the Children’s Classics Mystery Challenge hosted by 5 Minutes for Books. This challenge is a bit more free-form. Participants can choose the books they want to read — as long as they are mysteries and written for kids. The challenge takes place from January - June 2010, and there will be opportunities to link up reviews or progress reports on the second Tuesday of each month over at 5 Minutes for Books.

Of course, the Nancy Drew books I read will be part of this challenge as well, but I also made a run to the library last week to stock up on some Encyclopedia Brown books. Note: I loved Encyclopedia Brown books. I loved seeing if I could solve the mystery myself, or if I would have to rely on the answers in the back of the book to point out the clues I missed. We’ll see if I’m any more observant this time around.

I might also be able to talk my son, C. (11) into reading some of these books with me (and he already has one or two Encyclopedia Brown books that I plan to borrow during the challenge). In addition, C. recently read The Westing Game for a school book report — another mystery I devoured during my own childhood — and I’m seriously thinking about snagging that one to re-read before June.

So there you have it. Yes, I’m doing plenty of unstructured reading right now — picking up whatever book has been calling my name. But I’ll also be re-visiting one of my favorite genres this year — children’s mysteries. Can’t wait!