Star Wars reading recommendations for very different tastes

I got into Star Wars when I was 13 and quickly discovered that no matter how many times I watched the war against the Empire, the best way to continue enjoying the franchise was to pick up a book. And I did, getting my hands on the original Thrawn trilogy and buying the third book in The Jedi Academy trilogy while waiting for a relative's flight to get in. The prequels didn't come out until weeks before my high school graduation. The book have always been a big part of my fandom.

In the spirit of October being Star Wars Reads month, here are my picks of where to start your Star Wars Book journey!

The Heir to the Empire Trilogy

Do you like The Empire Strikes Back for its battle scenes and asteroid field chases and get a lot of enjoyment from the chaos at Endor? When not watching Star Wars, are you are looking for a war story or a high-stakes police thriller?

The original trilogy of books that kicked off Star Wars Legends, which introduced Grand Admiral Thrawn, is a good fit for you, with the personal perils of the characters and the high-octane battle scenes. Check out Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command by Timothy Zahn.

Mastery of the Force

The aforementioned The Jedi Academy trilogy is a natural starting point for people who love the Force element of Star Wars, but there are some great works elsewhere in the media. Legends comics told a sprawling and epic saga with its Tales of the Jedi run. One of the best studies of the way a person reckons with Jedi powers is Michael A. Stackpole's I, Jedi. It follows an X-wing pilot who previously turned down an offer of training as he gains the skills needed to rescue his wife.

More recently, one of my favorite canon books is Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray. We see Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi working as a team before they were sent to Naboo, and it's rewarding to see them at an earlier time. The High Republic era books also depict Jedi training and later life and explore new approaches to the Jedi Way.

Star Wars Audio Dramas

While not a book, I will never stop recommending the Star Wars Radio Dramas done by National Public Radio. Produced between 1981 and 1996, these were the original movies as extended editions, cleverly reframed for a non-visual audience. They were broken into suspenseful episodes covering the events we knew well while enhancing our enjoyment of the material.

Favorite additional materials from these NPR dramas are Leia's contentious relationship with an Imperial commander, Luke receiving a field promotion to commander of the Rogue Squadron after a calamitous battle and the inclusion of Mara Jade under the name of Arica. They all have a mix of original actors and newcomers to the trilogy.

And to dive into some real-world history, Maria Jose Tenuto and John Tenuto's The Star Wars Radio Dramas: Brian Daley and the Serialization That Saved NPR covers their creation.

The Short Stories

Some of the best fiction out there doesn't take much time to read. Of course, I could mention the 2020 Star Wars comic series, which just wrapped its run with the 50th issue. I could mention the popular Doctor Aphra stories, and I certainly advocate checking out the graphic novel adaptations of the prequel trilogy.

Going back further, there are anthologies of things such as Tales from the New Republic or Tales from Jabba's Palace. Back issues of Star Wars Insider are a great way to find new short stories to enjoy. They are all the forerunners of the From a Certain Point of View books.

And most unusually, there are Shakespeare-esque versions of the movies that Ian Doescher used to parody both the Bard and the galaxy far, far away. It may not be for everyone, but who can refuse Luke's soliloquy that begins with "Alas, poor stormtrooper, I knew ye not?"