I've been a fan of the Star Wars movies since I was a kid, but I've never read any of the books. Every time I've thought about reading them, I change my mind because there is so many books, I don't know where to start.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Wars_books>

<http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Timeline_of_books>

I don't live anywhere near a public library, and I don't have a lot of money to spend on 200+ books. I'm going to be buying the books for my e-reader with Christmas gift cards. 

I've heard about The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn, and The Darth Bane Trilogy by Drew Karpyshyn. The Thrawn Trilogy sounds really good, but since Bane isn't in the movies, is it worth it reading about characters I don't know? Is that one of those books I would have to read more in the universe before reading? Is it any good?

I'm interested in learning more about the characters in the original trilogy and the prequels. So, my question is, how do I read them? Do I read them in chronological order? Will I be completely lost if I read them out of order?