What books are better?

Im looking for a good starting point to pick up on in the star wars books...should i read before the new hope or after the return of the jedi?

I actully like the after return of the jedi books better. It has a more interesting era (my opinion.)

i've actually never read any of the books o if any suggestions are made would really help me out as well =]

IF you want a better understanding of the Dark Side, and of how Jedi/Sith dynamics worked back in the day, read the 'Darth Bane' novels.

Most people start with the various novelizations of the movies/in between, which I would recommend. The ones for the prequel trilogy are fantastic.

i recommend darth bane: path of destruction. or if you want new order, i recommend the all time classic: I Jedi

I love the Darth Bane books. But as far as novels go, the Thrawn Trilogy is pretty fantastic. My biggest recommendation is "I, Jedi." It is a novel told from the first person perspective of an ex Rogue Squadron pilot, current CorSec(Correlian Security forces) officer whose wife is kidnapped. Having a family lineage of Jedi that goes very far back, he becomes one of the first class of recruits in the New Jedi Order created by Luke Skywalker. It's a great book with a lot of intimate Jedi moments, and some crazy impromptu action, due to him being a soldier and pilot before having The Force as his ally.

Have fun man. The Expanded Universe is a pretty great place.

All the books are good, but i like the Darth Bane books the best. Very good books

Also try Author: Timothy Zahn.....

Timothy Zahn is a truly great author. He did the Thrawn Trilogy.(amongst others)

He also did Outbound Flight and the one where Luke/Mara found OF. Yeah, Zahn is awesome.

iam listening to the fatal alliance audio book. so far, so awesome.

The first Expanded Universe novels I read were the Jedi Academy trilogy: Jedi Search, Dark Apprentice, and Champions of the Force, all by Kevin J. Anderson; they deal with the very beginning of Luke Skywalker's new Jedi Order, as well as some New Republic politics, the Dark Side, an awesome superweapon, and Han Solo's continued adventures. Excellent books, and they introduce Kyp Durron, who goes on to become (in my opinion) one of the most interesting (and, unfortunately, underused of late) EU characters.

I would also recommend Allegiance, by Timothy Zahn, and Crosscurrent, by Paul S. Kemp. Allegiance is set during the Galactic Civil War, and involves discontented stormtroopers and the famed Mara Jade. Crosscurrent involves the Great Sith War and the Legacy Era simultaneously, including Jedi Academy's own Jaden Korr. They're excellent books, and can stand on their own rather than pulling you into a series.

Good hunting.

Also the clone wars series books are nice Shatterpoint (about Mace Windu) and Yoda :Dark Rendez-vous (about yoda and dooku)

Shatterpoint is an excellant novel. I loved the philosophy discussed there.

I personally go for the older (i.e. the mid-1990's books) like Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy, Truce at Bakura and The Courtship of Princess Leia. They may be old, but they're still good to read (if you don't know the story about it of course)

Yeah I started at the Jedi Academy series. Jedi Search, Dark Apprentice, Champions of the Force. Got all 3 off amazon for about $9, definitely worth the buy. I then moved straight on to the Legacy of the Force series, and am now reading the Fate of the Jedi stuff, which is SO good.

Also just bought the Darth Bane stuff and Im onto the last book, definitely get it, and I have bought Fatal Alliance there too

Do comics count hehe

Comics definitely count! The entire Tales of the Jedi series is awesome. Crimson Empire and Dark Empire were fantastic!

Comics are literature too!

I loved the New Jedi Order.
Putting such a young Order against an alien force as vicious and unforgiven as the Yuuzhan Vong was just brilliant.
Testing everyone's belief in what they new. Also kept me thinking about what the edge of a galaxy looks like.
Is it a mirrored glimmer or does space just go black? Tahiri Veila and Jacen Solo both had adventure's that made this series epic.

The Thrawn Trilogy was just epic.
So much didn't revolve around the Jedi or force users.
It brings out the pure humanity of Star Wars by reminding us that normal people can do extraordinary things.

Legacy of the Force was awesome.
Seeing Luke's own nephew devastate the galaxy with pretty much minimal effort was amazing.
Jaina and Jag were just awesome. And then of course Boba Fett played his part. Good 'ol Boba will never be off the best characters list.

Fate of the Jedi keeps getting better.
Bringing forward an entire planet of Sith just made me smile.
An actual challenge. Will the trials ahead of the Jedi be more than they can handle or will the Sith once again parish?

Remember, everyone, some people here haven't read certain novels. Try and keep the spoilers to a minimum.

I honestly enjoy Karren Travis's novels, especially the Commando ones. If you have not read them, they are very good. But yet, no more info on Sev....only downfall though, pick it up sometime.