If you're a longtime reader of Star Wars novels or have spent any time exploring the old Expanded Universe (now "Legends"), you're probably well aware that the books were … hit or miss. If we're being honest, the novels really covered the spectrum in terms of quality. But my goodness, there were a lot of them. As a new reader, it was nearly impossible to know where to begin.

As recently as 2013, the Expanded Universe was still being expanded. Star Wars had become a deep, intricate web of interconnected stories that spanned dozens of novels and hundreds of thousands of pages. It was a bit daunting, to be honest.

Then, in 2014, everything changed when Disney and Lucasfilm rebranded almost every story from the previous 30 years as "Legends." They were no longer considered "canon." This was hugely controversial among fans (still is), but it essentially cleared the deck to reboot the franchise, untangle the mess of conflicting stories that had been told, and develop a consistent, cohesive storyline in advance of The Force Awakens.

What began as a slow stream of new books dedicated to fleshing out specific aspects of the Star Wars universe has since become a raging torrent. In the last year or two, the Star Wars publishing machine (primarily spearheaded by Disney-Lucasfilm Press and Del Rey Books) has been turning out an impressive number and variety of new books.

The good news is that almost all of the original novels that comprise the new "expanded universe" have been surprisingly good—if not outright excellent. With almost every new release, the bar (along with expectations) gets raised for future releases. The bad news is that it's once again becoming difficult for a newcomer to know where to start.

The biggest questions new readers have are: How essential are the books, really? And will the books help me understand the movies on a different level?

That's fair. Not everyone wants to get lost in the Star Wars weeds and explore every nook and cranny of the universe. So if you want to crack the seal and see what's on offer in the world of Star Wars prose, where should you begin?

We cast a net over the "new-canon" original novels (YA and adult) with exactly that in mind. So as to not be too overwhelming (and to keep our sanity), we've excluded kids and young readers' books, film adaptations, and comics (some of which are remarkably essential). So where does that leave us? Well, there are still a lot of books, to be honest. It's time to strap in.

I'd love to recommend a long list of books, but even though some are downright fantastic, it's hard to justify them as "essential" reading (e.g., Christie Golden's Dark Disciple, Delilah Dawson's Phasma, and Alexander Freed's Battlefront: Twilight Company).

If you only want the best of the Star Wars pie, don't just nibble around the edges. Go straight for the center. Without further ado, here are the essential original Star Wars novels from the past few years (i.e., the new canon).