Advice needed for reader new to Star Wars

@f00l He listens to a lot of books, read aloud by the Kindle or Google computer (not the audio book version). There is something about a physical book that I think is good, it helps with the reading problem instead of offering an easier solution…but the ebook version may be what we get as well.

I will check out the official novelization versions, thanks all!

@tightwad
The problem with the SW novelizations is that they aren’t really that up to snuff as books. Just ok recountings of the films. (I think I read two of them in my life, during car trips.)

He might like stuff like the Hunger Games or Divergent series far better. They started as books, and they are decent-to-very-good.

There is a lot if good “young adult” stuff out there. Really a ton of it. I hope he finds stuff that fascinated him.

Has he ever done the "Harry Potrer series books?

JK Rowking can write. She’s funny as hell, she understands how to write with honestly and no condescension about kids and adolescents; she’s wildly inventive.

Those books rock. I like the films well enough, but the Potter books are way, way better than the films.

When the Potter books were being published, once they took off, many families had to get multiple copies on launch day, so there wouldn’t be fights.

Since these books went on sale in the summer, kids would refuse to attend summer camps that week. In order to get kids to agree to come to camp that week, the camps had to set up Harry Potter weeks where all the kids got books on launch day at midnight, and spent the next few days reading.

And the adults in the house had to restrain themselves until the kids finished, and they could get their own hands on the books.

On audible.com, in 2017, 4 of the top 10 bestselling books of the year are HP books. I bet the rest of the series falls into the top 20 bestsellers for the year. All these years later, still selling like mad. (Both recorded versions of the HP audiobooks rock)

Those HP books are worth all of this.

If you want print books, physical books, you can often get used entire series in good shape cheaply on Ebay.

And there are used book stores. Are you near a Half Price Books? the staff there can tell you what kids his age are into.

So can your local librarian.

@f00l I was afraid of that with the novelizations…I won’t keep my hopes high.
He has read the entire HP series, as well as the Divergent, Hunger Games, I am #4 (worst naming sequence ever btw…what a pain to figure out the next book), Rangers Apprentice, Brother Band Chronicles…lots of good series. Most of them he has listended to (multiple times) rather than reading them because of his struggles.

@tightwad

Check with the librarian or the staff at HPB for more ideas.

Has he done Wool or Silo (both series, I think) or Ready Player One?

What about the long (is it 13 books? 14?) Wheel Of Time series?

If he has never done the original Sherlock Holmes stories; there is a reason those are still best sellers.

@tightwad

If he likes JR Rowling and the Harry Potter books, he might like some of Rowling’s other writings.

In particular, the Cormoran Strike mystery series, by “Robert Galbraith” (a JK Rowling pen name).

There are three of them now (to be read in order) with a 4th one due I think next spring.

These grab the reader (imo) the way I hope a Rowling book will grab me.

I devour these, and know others who do; they are s little more adult than HP, obviously; but I (this is just me) would give these without hesitation to a HS kid or much younger.

There is some darker real-world type stuff and language, obviously; but that’s traditional for mysteries, going back to Agatha Christie, Conan Doyle and Poe.

these Comoran Strike books, if filmed, could, apart from a few curse words, be shown on regular broadcast TV. These stories are not necessarily the stuff of cable (not in the way big graphic HBO series such as GOT must be in cable).

In fact, some of these books have been filmed, as miniseries, for a UK network. I think either the broadcast or the streaming rights are due to be available in the US soon?

He might or might not like Rowling’s stand-alone book The Casual Vacancy. A lot of people didn’t like it as much as they had hoped. I did. But it’s very “Thackeray” or something. Not for everyone.

@tightwad Might think about ‘Enchanted Forest Chronicles’ by Patricia Wrede. Pretty easy reading for ya who struggle - engaging story, lots of humor. Audio version has great voice acting. Perhaps the fantasy setting too ‘juvenile’ for 17yo, but we love it.

@compunaut

Long time no see!

@compunaut He specifically asked about Star Wars, thus the question at hand. I love the suggestions tho and will keep them in mind for all of our kids.

@f00l I ordered the first Cormoran Strike book for my daughter who is a big Harry Potter fan…hoping to branch her out with a J.K. book…

@f00l my son has a problem with reading also, I just bought him two Harry Potter books that are Illustrated so it’s easier to read for him

@f00l Wool sold me on self-publishing. I really need to finish that series. It’s sitting right here…

@compunaut Endorse. Although I think the first was the best, the others were still good.

And in that vein, lots of Diana Wynne Jones’ stuff. Dark Lord of Derkholm is probably most similar.

Sorry, I haven’t read the Star Wars books, so I can’t address the original question.

@Nate311 there’s one for Empire and Jedi too. My ten year old likes these as much as she likes Percy Jackson.

@tinsami1 @tightwad You can’t really go wrong with anything by Timothy Zahn. “Scoundrels” might be a good starter because it is an easy read and requires no knowledge of the expanded universe (Han, Lando and Chewie are central characters). The original Thrawn trilogy (1992) is truly great and it is both the benchmark and impetus for the avalanche of Star Wars books that followed. It focuses heavily on the characters of the original trilogy, but comprising three novels, it is is quite a time commitment.

@tinsami1 @DrWorm He hasn’t watched any but the movies so far (haven’t seen the newest one yet even)

@DrWorm I like everything of Zahn’s but his Star Wars books

@ilyashap The three movies under Disney’s stewardship are FAR better than the last three that Lucas gave us.

I’d call axing the the over-Expanded Universe a mercy killing, not a butchering.

I can understand hard feelings if you’d invested a lot of time into the Expanded Universe over the years. But it had become so big and bloated and self contradictory that a clean start was probably the best way to deal with it.

@blaineg Just cause the movies are “better” in you opinion doesn’t mean everyone likes them. They could have made better movies in the existing rich and not, as I see it, redundant lets remake lets make the last three movies with a slight twist on the plots.

I’d MUCH rather have seen the growth of the solo twins and their younger brother, than Kylo. Much rather have seen the union of Luke and Mara Jade and THEIR son. And then also seen Luke’s attempts at his version of the Jedi and of the pitfalls he has. And I also would have liked a film that DOESN’T have a FRIGGIN Empire as the main bad guys. Opponents you CAN’T feel in the force make for much more interesting antaganists.

@somf69

@blaineg still have that shirt…

@somf69 I love that shirt…wish I had purchased it but I have too many T’s as it is (I am mostly into Meg Ts and Sarcastic Ts)

@tightwad Guess what?

https://shirt.woot.com/offers/its-a-trap

I had a great reaction to this shirt, it was a little old lady, after moving in for a closer look: “Oh! I thought that was a picture of a baby. But a very ugly baby.”