What's Next for the Star Wars Books?

I only started reading Star Wars books around the time that they came up with the whole canon and expanded universe concept (that is, books written before the Disney takeover, minus the movie novelizations, are no longer considered canon). So I figured I would read all the new books coming out while the new movies are coming out and then after that I'd be more selective and only read the ones that sounded interesting to me . . . and maybe then I'd also double back and read some of the EU books (I mean, I have read a couple, but there are plenty more).

What does that mean now, though? The new trilogy is almost over but Disney will still be making more Star Wars content. So do I keep reading all the new Star Wars books? I don't know. I enjoy them, but I'm also getting a little tired of them. Books like Ahsoka or Master and Apprentice I've much liked, but books like Alphabet Squadron take a little more effort from me. I'm just not as interested in the military side or the political side that some of the books take. I'm not saying that Star Wars books shouldn't cover a variety of subjects and angles; I'm just saying that some of those appeal to me more or less than others.

I did get into Alphabet Squadron, but it took me a while. And if I were in the picking and choosing phase, I probably would have skipped this one (well, except for the fact that I knew Hera was in it, which was exciting to imagine, though she didn't end up having too big of a role, anyway). This coming after how refreshing it was to read Willa Cather last month or whenever that was. I'm realizing that the bulk of what I have been reading has been Star Wars books. I like Star Wars books, but I don't like them enough that they should be that big of a percentage of what I'm reading.

The reality is, I'm just not reading that much these days. There's only so much time to sit down with a book, right? So if I'm trying to keep up with all the Star Wars books as they're released, I'm not getting to other things I might want to read, as well. So that's my motivation. If I were still twelve years old, spending every summer reading all day long, then sure, I could read all the Star Wars books new and old and still get through plenty of other content, as well. But I'm not, and I'm realizing that the reason I don't always carve out as much time for reading is that I don't always get as much out of it as I used to. So I need to make sure I'm working in content that excites me.

I'll probably still read all the new Star Wars releases for the year . . . and probably most of them after that, too. But I'm at the point now where if they come up with another Battlefront book, I'll feel comfortable skipping it.

Twilight Company & the Wars in the Stars

I knew this was probably a book I could skip but I wanted to read all the Star Wars books that came out this year. Even still, when I picked it up to buy at the bookstore, I hesitated over seeing the cover in person: it just looks like a book I wouldn't be interested in. But I got it, anyway.

I've never been a video game person, so it's a little strange to be reading a book based on a video game. While I was seeing all the displays in stores about Battlefront: Twilight Company the game, I was at home reading Battlefront: Twilight Company the novel. I guess that was my way of taking part in the game everyone else was enjoying?

Anyway, the fact that the book is based on a video game isn't exactly what made it not my type of book. It's the battle and military focus that wasn't quite in line with my interests: I like the drama, the literary qualities, and the character arcs in Star Wars more than the actual wars. And this book is all about one battle after the next. First they go to this planet and fight, then this planet, then that planet. Maybe a battle in space in between. Morale in the company is low and then it goes back up and then it's low again and then it goes back up. All kind of monotonous to someone who isn't interested in military stories.

When I started reading this book, I had three weeks until Episode VII was going to come out. So I figured I would read the book in a week and then have a couple of weeks to rest from my Star Wars book marathon of the last several months. It didn't quite happen that way. I spent the first two weeks just getting through the first fourth of the novel. Then I spent about three days on the middle half. And then I read the last fourth yesterday in a desperate attempt to finish before the movie's opening day (even though I don't think I'll be watching it until Saturday).

So suffice it to say, as I'd expected, I had trouble getting into this book. But you know, in those last couple of days I think it did start to draw me in, in its own way. The characters were starting to feel like people: I felt like I was watching them in a TV show, like they were tangibly there, moving from one episode to the next. And it is always kind of nice to get a new perspective on the Star Wars events that we're all used to. The main force of the Rebellion plays out certain battles, but Twilight Company does a lot of dirty work and a lot of widespread work on the many, many planets under the Empire's hold. (Side note: for this being a military book, it wasn't graphic about the wounds and fighting--other Star Wars books I've read this year have been more graphic, which was kind of surprising.)

And now I'm officially read for Episode VII. Which, in turn, means that starting tonight, I think I'll hide from the Internet for the next couple of days until after I've seen the movie. You never know where spoilers will appear.