They were what got me into SW as more than just the films so I may be biased but I have a massive soft spot for the Thrawn books. I must watch Ahsoka and Rebels because I know he’s in them, even if they don’t necessarily do him justice. Plus Ahsoka herself is my favourite SW character overall, which may change if I reread Heir to the Empire etc (I reckon they should at the very least use Mara Jade in canon stuff because she’s fun as hell)