May the 4th Be with You! While Star Wars began as a film franchise with a  novelization, one spin off novel, and a cheesy comic book series, today there are hundreds of Star Wars novels. This can make it a little intimidating for new fans to jump in and start enjoying these books, so I've put together this list of 15 of the most essential Star Wars stories that will deepen your understanding of the 9-film Skywalker Saga! They're arranged in rough chronological order, but you don't need to read them that way. You can dip in and out of these with no more background than having watched the films. Remember: Read, and the Force is with you!