Reading Progress Report + Challenges and Opportunities

Dear readers, my Episode I coverage represents a major point.  Episode I is the first movie being viewed in my chronological read-through of Star Wars Legends material, and represents renewal of Star Wars in my youth.  The original trilogy movies were all released before I was born, and in my childhood I did not suspect that George Lucas would ever make the prequels.  The release of Episode I (shortly before my thirteenth birthday) marked a point when new Star Wars was being made, and we found ourselves in a time when novels and comics could explore a whole new era (first that of the training of Obi-Wan and Anakin, and later the Clone Wars first mentioned in passing in the original movie and the rise of the Empire).  This feeling of renewal came back in 2014, when we learned of Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm and the promise of new Star Wars movies (something that we could have never predicted in 2005, when Episode III was released and we all believed the movie saga of Star Wars was finished).

Before I write about Episode I, its novelization, and comic and video game adaptations, I wanted to actually count everything Star Wars I've read so far for this blog.  I'll do another count shortly before Episode II coverage (see below as to why).

Legends Read-Through:

• 14 novels
• Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void
• The Old Republic: Revan
• The Old Republic: Deceived
• Red Harvest
• The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance
• The Old Republic: Annihilation
• Knight Errant
• Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
• Darth Bane: Rule of Two
• Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil
• Cloak of Deception
• Maul: Lockdown
• Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter
• Darth Plagueis
• 169 comics
• Dawn of the Jedi 0
• Dawn of the Jedi: Force Storm 1-5
• Dawn of the Jedi: Prisoner of Bogan 1-5
• Dawn of the Jedi: Force War 1-5
• Tales of the Jedi: Golden Age of the Sith 0-5
• Tales of the Jedi: Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5
• Tales of the Jedi: Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon 1-2
• Tales of the Jedi: The Saga of Nomi Sunrider 1-3
• Tales of the Jedi: The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2
• Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6
• Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War 1-6
• Tales of the Jedi: Redemption 1-5
• Knights of the Old Republic 0-50
• Knights of the Old Republic Handbook
• Knights of the Old Republic: War 1-5
• The Old Republic 1-6
• The Old Republic: The Lost Suns 1-5
• Lost Tribe of the Sith: Spiral 1-5
• Knight Errant: Aflame 1-5
• Knight Errant: Deluge 1-5
• Knight Errant: Escape 1-5
• Jedi vs. Sith 1-6
• Jedi: The Dark Side 1-5
• Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan: The Aurorient Express 1-2
• Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan: Last Stand on Ord Mantell 1-3
• Darth Maul 1-4
• Jedi Council: Acts of War 1-4
• Republic 1-6
• 13 short stories
• Dawn of the Jedi: Eruption
• Precipice
• Skyborn
• Paragon
• Savior
• Purgatory
• Sentinel
• Paragon
• Secrets
• Pandemonium
• Restraint
• Darth Maul: Saboteur
• End Game
• 5 video game (in whole or individual campaigns)
• Knights of the Old Republic
• Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
• The Old Republic (and all expansions)
• Galactic Battlegrounds (campaign 1)
• Starfighter

Canon: 

• 14 novels (whether for adults, teens, or kids)
• Tarkin
• Heir to the Jedi
• Lords of the Sith
• Aftermath
• Lost Stars
• Aftermath: Life Debt
• Aftermath: Empire's End
• Bloodline
• Leia, Princess of Alderaan
• Dark Disciple
• Catalyst
• Rebel Rising
• Guardians of the Whills
• Rogue One novelization
• 89 comics
• Star Wars 1-25 + Annual 1-2
• Darth Vader 1-25 + Annual 1
• Princess Leia 1-5
• Lando 1-5
• Shattered Empire 1-4
• Vader Down one-shot
• Chewbacca 1-5
• Obi-Wan and Anakin 1-5
• Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir 1-4
• Cassian and K-2SO one-shot
• Rogue One 1-6
• 2 video game levels
• Battlefront: Jakku DLC
• Battlefront: Scarif DLC
• 2 movies
• The Clone Wars
• Rogue One
• 129 TV episodes
• all five seasons of The Clone Wars
• the Netflix-only season of The Clone Wars
• the eight unfinished episodes of The Clone Wars

Non-Star Wars:

• 1 novel
• Star Trek: Enterprise: The Good That Men Do
• 391 comics
• X-23 (2005) 1-6
• X-23: Innocence Lost 1-6
• NYX 1-7
• Captain Universe/X-23 one-shot
• New Mutants (2003) 1-13
• New X-Men (2004) 1-46
• New X-Men: Hellions 1-4
• X-Men: Messiah CompleX one-shot
• Uncanny X-Men (1963) 492-494, 523-525
• X-Men (1991, later renamed X-Men Legacy) 205-207, 235-237
• X-Factor (2005) 25-27
• Avengers World 17-21
• Avengers (2012) 35-44
• New Avengers (2013) 24-33
• Secret Wars (2015) 0-9
• Captain America and the Mighty Avengers 8-9
• Spider-Woman (2014) 10
• Black Widow (2014) 19-20
• Loki: Agent of Asgard 14-17
• Ms. Marvel (2014) 16-19
• Magneto (2014) 18-21
• Punisher (2014) 19-20
• Silk 7
• Ant-Man: Last Days one-shot
• Silver Surfer (2014) 13-15
• Secret Wars Journal 1-5
• Secret Wars: Battleworld 1-4
• A-Force (2015) 1-5
• Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps 1-4
• Inferno 1-5
• X-Tinction Agenda 1-4
• Infinity Gauntlet (2015) 1-5
• X-men '92 Infinite Comic 1-8
• E is for Extinction 1-4
• Years of Future Past 1-5
• Old Man Logan (2015) 1-5
• House of M (2015) 1-4
• Secret Wars 2099 1-5
• Marvel Zombies (2015) 1-4
• Armor Wars 1-5
• 1872 1-4
• Spider-Verse (2015) 1-5
• Mrs. Deadpool and the Howling Commandos 1-4
• Secret Wars: Secret Love one-shot
• Korvac Saga 1-4
• Captain Britain and the Mighty Defenders 1-2
• 1602: Witch Hunter Angela 1-5
• Age of Apocalypse (2015) 1-5
• Squadron Sinister 1-4
• Runaways (2015) 1-4
• Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies 1-4
• Inhumans: Attilan Rising 1-5
• Star-Lord and Kitty Pryde 1-3
• Guardians of Knowhere 1-4
• Red Skull 1-3
• Ultimate End 1-5
• Thors 1-4
• Siege (2015) 1-4
• Gambit (1993) 1-4
• Rogue (1994) 1-4
• Wolverine/Gambit: Victims 1-4
• Storm (1995) 1-4
• X-Force (2008) 1-28
• Cable (2008) 1-26 + King-Size Spectacular
• X-Men: The Times and Life of Lucas Bishop 1-3
• X-Men: Hope one-shot
• X-Men/Cable: Messiah War one-shot
• X-Necrosha: The Gathering one-shot
• X-Necrosha one-shot
• X-Men: Second Coming 1-2
• New Mutants (2009) 12-14
• X-23 (2010A) one-shot
• X-23 (2010B) 1-7
• 1 original graphic novel
• Russian Olive to Red King

I've also read some non-fiction, including the great Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach, which I've not blogged about.  Eventually I'll do a post about science writing I think.

I've also read quite a few comics I've not blogged about yet, including a massive Astonishing X-Men run and quite a bit of Wolverine and X-23.

Favourite Novels:

Canon: Lost Stars and Leia, Princess of Alderaan
Legends: The Old Republic: Deceived; Darth Bane: Path of Destruction; and Cloak of Deception

Least Favourite Novels:

Canon: Aftermath and Guardians of the Whills
Legends: Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void and Darth Bane: Rule of Two

Favourite Comics:

Canon: Darth Vader (entire series)
Legends: Tales of the Jedi (entire series)

Least Favourite Comics:

Canon: Obi-Wan and Anakin and Cassian and K-2SO
Legends: Jedi: The Dark Side

Challenges and Opportunities:

The biggest challenge with this type of massive reading project is that other books I might be interested in reading get set aside.  I am very far behind on my usual "second-reading of the comics I buy before I file them".  I still want to read the various Dune novels I've bought over the years.  I want to read the original Ian Fleming James Bond novels and the Tom Clancy Ryanverse books (I started re-reading those in 2011 in release order, and stopped partway through the third book published).  One of my favourite comedy authors, Christopher Moore, has a new book out and I haven't had time to read his 2014 or 2015 books either.  I'm also still working my way through modern X-Men and 1990s X-Men, which I've not had time to work on for a while either.

I believe I will pause this project at a certain arbitrary point to try other books for a bit, and then return to reading Star Wars.  One option might be to take breaks before and/or after each Star Wars movie, as they change the status quo going forward (as mentioned above).  The Star Wars universe changes with Episode I, and so I can read a few other books after Episode I.  It changes again with Episode II, but the next stories all follow rather closely, so I'd take that break before Episode II (and so on, making judgment calls on whether the break is best before or after the movie).

Another challenge pertains to reading comics, especially when I travel.  I read comics fairly quickly, but I can't take comic book issues, graphic novel collections, or my iPad on the bus or to the gym (where I enjoy reading on the treadmill).  I can bring my iPad when I travel, but I still wouldn't bring physical comics in any format.

This challenge may present another solution to the challenge of wanting to occasionally read other things.  When the next element of my reading order is comics, then I can take a non-Star Wars book with me on the bus or to the gym, or on my next trip.  The book Soonish by Zach and Kelly Weinersmith, which is about future technology that might come in our lifetimes, is currently in my gym bag, and I can resume reading it when I finish the Episode I novelization.

I'll get to read this Soon (...ish)!  Image from book's official website.

Conclusion:

The project continues, and I'll get through this comprehensive reading list over the next several years.  I need to find a solution to the issue of wanting to read non-Star Wars books on occasion, and I will take brief breaks to enjoy non-Star Wars books on occasion.