Welcome to the Galaxy!
Stuck trying to figure out where to begin reading? Look no further!
Disclaimer : This may be a topic that is highly debated, but just know, there is no wrong place to start.
Everyone’s journey is going to look different, but in the end, the real goal is to read all the amazing books, enjoy exploring into different galaxies, and, my absolute favorite part, trying to put all the thousands of puzzle pieces together.
Where to Start?
Again, in the long-run, it doesn’t really matter where you start your journey.
You could literally pick a title from a hat and be able to understand each book (minus series, which I always recommend reading in order). What’s so fun about the novels is that each author gives enough backstory/information on their characters’ quests that you don’t have to know every single thing to fully enjoy each book.
There are multiple ways to begin reading in the world of Star Wars Novels:
- Canon v Legends – read in order (more on this below)
- By Favorite Character
- By Era – read in order
- By Your Favorite Cover
- By Your Favorite Author
- Or just Pick a Title from a Hat
Where Did I Start?
So you may be asking, where did I start my reading, and would I continue to recommend my path?
If you haven’t read or even watched anything from this mega-verse, listen up.
First thing’s first.. I’d recommend watching the movies in filming order. Aka, the original trilogy, then the prequels, and finally the sequel trilogy. In my lovely opinion, this gives you the best shock value and insight to the main characters and their struggles while also preventing any mis-interpretations of the timeline.
As I grew up with the films at a young age, I had the visuals engraved into my head which helped solidify what I was reading. I was able to point things out in the stories that I may have missed if I hadn’t see them on screen.
Then, once you finished with all the movies (or not), go through the books while dipping your toes into all the tv-shows (which I’ll talk about more in a future post).
For my reading history, I began reading in Canon-order, meaning, I starting with the canonized, accepted Star Wars events. At the time, the High Republic era was just about to release, so I waited to pick up the first book, Light of the Jedi, from my local library.
And it wasn’t a bad start.
Looking back, I do think that this starting point is still a decent one, BUT since it’s a newer era being explored, new books are continuously releasing, meaning, I don’t remember all of what happened in the first trilogy… So when I come back to the High Republic timeline, I’ll have to do some re-reading.
Once the first three books released, I was pretty much standing around, twiddling my thumbs, waiting until the next trilogy was announced. So my eagerness drove me into the next era: the Fall of the Jedi.
Many months down the road and my growing desire to start collecting the books, I gravitated into the Legends category, pausing at the very beginning of the Canon : New Republic era.
Because, let me tell you, the mass market Legends are ALOT cheaper to buy. (P.S.. I’m a mass market paperback lover!)
And now, as of early Fall 2023, I am almost finished through the Legends : Rise of the Sith era.
Looking back, I don’t think it’s wrong to start with either category. But, what I do recommend is to read, whichever you choose, IN ORDER. Especially with the Legends books, as different authors do reference events from previous books VERY frequently.
Canon v Legends
What makes the difference between books labeled as Canon versus Legends?
Well, it all has to do with the new owners, Disney. Now, because there is SOO much content in this world, it is hard for everyone to stay consistent with every event that takes place. So, to help combat this, they split into the two categories.
For those who wanted to stay consistent, the Canon was the preferred route. Meaning, everything labeled as ‘canon’ is what is accepted as actually happening in the Star Wars realm.
When it comes to the Legends, there is a lot more freedom to explore. While you will still see characters, places, events, and timelines referenced from Canon-content, not every detail may have actually happened in the galaxy.
A lot of paths branch off in the Legends, giving leeway for authors to decide how their book veers off into different, creative directions. For example, a book may reference a lightsaber as blue but in a show, it’s actually green. Or, a planet was really destroyed, but in this particular book, it’s still there and thriving.
It’s more of an author’s interpretation of what could happen versus sticking to a very strict reference manual such as seen with the Canon-verse.
Pick a Book Where You Like..
So in the end, it does’t matter what book you read, when you read it, or even how. But I know alot of readers are curious like me, and want a good recommended starting point.
A really good reference tool for actual timelines is Youtini.com. They were one of my favorite resources to figure out where each of the books are in the respected timelines, and they do keep it pretty current. So I recommend checking them out!
Disclaimer : All references mentioned in this post are not sponsored. They are just some fun, knowledgeable sources I use on a daily basis for my own reading journey, and I want to help spread towards you too.
What are your reading recommendations for the world of Star Wars?? Share your journey below!
Bones n Coffee Books 