I started leisurely reading around 2015; all my reading before focused on learning a new skill, programming syntax manuals, and similar materials. So, to start off a new genre of reading strictly for pleasure, I went with a storyline that I, like millions of others have gravitated to, Star Wars. It was a good decision.

My first book in the series was one I picked up at Barnes and Noble titled Death Troopers. Death Troopers is a Star Wars novel written by Joe Schreiber. Schreiber's idea was to create a horror story in the Star Wars universe that pulled from horror movies he enjoyed such as The Shining and Alien. The novel is the first Star Wars horror story since the Galaxy of Fear series. It featured Chewy and Han and was a storyline that pulled me in to a world that I knew but only by movies. I won’t give any spoilers here, but it got me interested in reading more. Once I finished Death Troopers, I kept an eye out for other books; some people may go out and buy whole series of books but enjoyed the thrill of the search as well as the read. While out one day, I found the start to a trilogy at Goodwill and little did I know, this trilogy would change how I felt about the whole Star Wars universe. The Darth Bane Trilogy by Drew Karpyshyn is what really hooked me and pushed me to reading more deliberately about the Star Wars universe. I immediately picked up the other two books and found an author that I continue to follow to this day. There is something about his writing I can easily fall into and find believable.

After the Darth Bane trilogy, I wanted to start from the beginning. I asked myself, how did all start? what key parts of the Star Wars history had I missed? I went to Barnes and Noble to pick up the first book in the series, at least the first one I could find and at the top of all the book lists I saw so far. It was Star Wars, Dawn of the Jedi. I think anyone who likes the Star Wars lore should read this book, it offers an intriguing view into the Jedi before they were called Jedi. The story displayed a stark contrast on how I felt about Jedi up to this point; I have to say, for an origins story, it gripped me.

I have continued down the list and frequent the used bookstore for other books that are not on that list, or books outside the cannon storyline. We have a local place (A Few Books More) here that the owner is also an avid Star Wars fan, cannon and non-cannon. He printed out a list of all things Star Wars for me to reference on my path to learn about the history of Star Wars. If you are interested in getting into reading, this universe will keep your attention.