A novel, Uma McCormack's The Last Best Hope, will follow in February 2020. It'll be published by Simon & Schuster and introduce some of the new characters you'll see in Picard. You may want to read up, then, especially if you aren't a die-hard fan.

It's far too soon to tell whether or not you'll feel somewhat left out by skipping the books. With that said, the very existence of the titles shows how much trust CBS is placing in Picard. It's betting that there's pent-up demand for a TV show continuing Jean-Luc's story, and it's willing to back side projects that could further fuel the hype.