I listed some things in the “What do you hate about the EU?” thread, so to balance things out I’ve come here to share what I like/love about the EU!

I appreciate the EU for finding imaginative ways to explore the Star Wars universe, mostly in those early days, but some of the later stuff did so too. I remember when I first found out about all of it- my mind was blown. I never imagined there could be so much more going on the Galaxy Far Far Away.
Lately I’ve taken a particular interest in the older EU stories. So far anything with Brian Daley and Archie Goodwin/Al Williamson has been great. Everything they do feels like it could have happened in an actual Star Wars movie, but they all manage to create all new situations and worlds to explore. It feels like a very natural and fresh expansion of the concepts, characters, and ideas introduced in the OT. Even though they show things like the Bounty Hunter on Ord Mantell or the Battle of Toprawa (how the Rebels got the Death Star plans) none of it feels like fan service. Its very authentic and fresh. (For context, I’m mostly referring to the Newspaper Strips, the Han Solo adventures, and the radio dramas.)
Adding onto that, I’ve also been impressed with the work of Tom Vietch. Bringing back Boba Fett and Palpatine should have never worked creatively. Its something that sounds like pure fan service, contrived and without any substance, but with Dark Empire Vietch manages to craft something that feels very special and unique. The art by Cam Kennedy adds to this as well. I’ve yet to reread Dark Empire 2 and Empire’s End though, so we’ll see what I think of that. I’m currently reading Tales of the Jedi for the first time so I’ll jump back into Dark Empire afterwards. Either way, I really enjoy the first Dark Empire.
I also really enjoy Matthew Stover’s Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor. Its epic in scale, its witty, cinematic, pulpy, philosophic, intense, atmospheric, and poetic. Luke gets pushed to his limits as he is faced with a nihilistic philosophy that threatens to break his spirit, all while he tries not only living up to the legacy of the Jedi, but to the legacy that’s been formed around him. The book also breaks it’s own meta. Was any of it real? Did it really happen? Well of course not, it is a novel after all… A lot of people hate it for that, but I think it’s the author’s way of commentating on the fandom’s obsession with canon and what “really happened.”
John Jackson Miller’s KOTOR comic was great too. One of the best comics I’ve ever read. I’m not a big fan of the KOTOR era, but the story and characters were just too good. The banter and relationships between the characters reminds me of the OT with Luke, Han and Leia. Some really interesting plot twists too- the kinds that don’t just come out of nowhere, but the kinds that make you go “why didn’t I see that coming! It all makes sense now!” (Even though I knew something strange was happening for a while.)