Since The Force Awakens, that question has gotten a little more difficult to answer, because the books are split into two continuities: the non-canon Star Wars Legends (otherwise known as the Expanded Universe) and a new series of books that fall in the official canon. Since that book hit stores, a lot of people have asked about how to start in on the mountain of material that is Star Wars, canon or not. That doesn’t mean those books aren’t worth reading: recently, Timothy Zahn returned to the Star Wars universe to tell the origins of his most famous character, Grand Admiral Thrawn, who was recently brought back into the canon via Star Wars Rebels. The tie-in novels are still being published, but they’re not part of the official canon. With the new series of films from Disney, Lucasfilm decided give filmmakers a clean slate. The sheer volume of material is a double-edged sword: it provides dedicated fans plenty of new material to immerse themselves in, but it can also deter newcomers who just want to dip their toes in the water.
The Star Wars universe is more than just a handful of blockbuster films and animated television shows.
