Top products from r/trekbooks

I guess it depends on if you want to read the books like the show aired, or as a long, multipart story...

For many years, Star Trek books came out as individual, numbered books that had a beginning, a middle and an ending, encapsulated within a single book (or a short 2-3 book miniseries). They were written like episodes, where everything is wrapped up at the end, and all of the main characters survived. (there was an author's writing guide for all of the numbered Trek books. Authors were not allowed to kill off main characters). Nothing that happened in these books affected things in other books (with a few minor exceptions), so the authors could basically create whatever scenarios they wanted. As long as they didn't kill off main characters or do anything that went against the canon of the series/movies, the sky was the limit.

Then, the Star Trek editors over at Simon and Schuster decided to change things up a little. Some people call it the TNG Relaunch, some call it the Post-Nemesis (the last on-screen canon TNG aired) books. Either works, because starting in 2005, TNG books were no longer numbered, and storylines from one book affected storylines in other books (and other series). Authors now had to work together to make sure the narrative flowed smoothly between books, and characters, ships and entire planets could irreversibly get wiped out. As much as I loved the numbered books back then, the new books seem much more mature and fleshed out compared to pre-Nemesis books. New characters are introduced and carry over between books, between authors, and between series. The TNG Enterprise crew has changed drastically, and continues to change as their stories take them in so many different directions.

This is also the case with Enterprise, DS9 and Voyager. They each had their own "relaunch" time, and their stories and characters are now very intertwined (When you get to the Destiny trilogy, you'll see what I mean).

tl;dr: If you like your Trek to be episodic, start with #1, Ghost Ship.

If you want to start reading TNG as a linear story where each book is like a single chapter in a neverending narrative, do as /u/TheOtherJohnP said and start with the relaunch title, Death in Winter.

Either way, you're in for SO MANY wonderful stories and adventures. Enjoy!

EDIT: Actually, after thinking about it, if you want to start with the relaunch, I'd start with the "A Time to..." books. They introduce characters that get carried over into the relaunch.

I read "The Galactic Whirlpool" recently and really enjoyed it. Great plot and lots of Kevin Reilly!

"Doctor's Orders" by Diane Duane is another favorite. Log: McCoy grumps like a champ through command of the Enterprise while Kirk is missing.

I highly recommend the numbered Star Trek: The Next Generation series published by Pocket Books.

The first one is called Ghost Ship:

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Ghost_Ship

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation_(Pocket)

They are short enough that you can breeze through a book in a sitting or two, and they're so well written that it feels like the authors really know the characters. Considering the first couple of books were released around the time the show debuted, these particular novels show a side of the characters you might be aware of because they predate the show's depiction of the character.

The Titan series is supposed to be really good but I haven't read any of them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_Titan

I really enjoyed Imzadi.

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Imzadi_(novel)

Articles of the Federation is worth mentioning.

http://www.amazon.com/Articles-Federation-Star-Unnumbered-Paperback/dp/1416500154

I will agree with the aforementioned Star Trek Destiny trilogy, as it is awesome. A year after Nemesis, the Borg returns with like a hundred cubes launching a simultaneous attack on the Federation, The Klingon Empire, and what's left of the Romulan Empire. This is an epic story featuring character from TNG, DS9 and Voyager, which also gives us the definitive origin of The Borg (and, possibly, the end of them...).

I am also going to mention William Shatner's The Return, which I know is considered a separate continuity (the so-called "Shatnerverse") from the other Star Trek novels, but I always loved this one. Set 3 months after the Generations movie, The Borg resurrect James Kirk and use him as an agent working against the Federation. Even though the depiction of the Borg in here are later contradicted by how the Borg were later portrayed in movies and other ST novels (this is before First Contact, so there's no reference to a Borg Queen, for example, plus the Borg have an alliance with the Romunlans), I always like this one.

War Dragons, one of the Captain's Table books.

blurb:
Captain James T. Kirk must join forces with Captain Hikaru Sulu, new commander of the U.S.S. Excelsior, to resolve a simmering political situation in a distant star system. For more than twenty years, the ancient enmity between Nykkus and Anjiri has resisted the best efforts of Federation diplomats. Now Kirk and Sulu have one last chance to end the bloodshed -- before it erupts into a full-scale interstellar war.

Check out amazon, Ive been getting some bargains for rock bottom prices, examples.

Captains Table, 6 Books in 1

Star Trek Invasion, 4 Books in 1

First 3 Books of the Shatnerverse

plus many more.

Start at the beginning of the good books of Generations. (Metamorphosis)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Metamorphosis-Star-Trek-Next-Generation/dp/0671684027
Centers around Data 1st Trek book I ever read

Another (Vendetta)
http://www.amazon.com/Vendetta-Giant-Novel-Star-Generation/dp/0671741454
This deals with the Borg and as a nod to the Original Series. An actual plausible explanation to the creation of 'The Doomsday' weapon. totaly got me into reading the books

Star Trek Star Charts: The Complete Atlas of Star Trek https://www.amazon.com/dp/0743437705/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_eCI-Ab7CH95Q6

Federation (Star Trek) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0671894234/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_5moZDb0YVC10W

The first one that popped into mind was Ship of the Line but it's been a while since I read it, so not sure if it will meet your requirements.

there's only one relaunch book scheduled publicly in 2018, the Voyager: Architects of Infinity, it's very weird, normally by this time my upcoming list would have at least 20 fiction books on it.

Just some vague talk about more discovery books and some arts and crafts books or books about cats.

https://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Next-Generation-Cats-ebook/dp/B077W2V3G8/