I just finished Heir to the Jedi two days ago. I thought it was quite good and you get over the first person thing eventually. It did a good job of closing one of the big holes for me from the first movie and that is Luke's never getting to grieve over the deaths of so many he cares about.
where to start on EU
I'll echo a lot of people suggesting Zhan's Heir to the Empire trilogy. For me, it's the best overall Star Wars experience. Full stop. Yes, better than any of the 6 movies.
Weirdly: Shadow of the Empire used to be Cannon, just below the movies, but more "true" than any of the books. The fact that it has been demoted is odd, but *shrug* it's still a fun story. And yes: very much the Scum faction story to read.
As far as the new cannon books.... They're good stories with some mediocre writing. At least, the first 2 were. Reviews have convinced me that the 3rd novel is all the way down to _bad_ writing. But good _lord_ that Tarkin novel needed an editor. There were a few times I found myself wondering if the book was written in English, or merely translated into English; some of the word choices felt like bad localization.
A lot of Star Wars (including the 6 movies) is a triumph of great story over bad writing. So in that sense, it's hard to know what to recommen, it depends on your tolerance. The Zhan books come highly recommend in part because they come the closest to being well written.
I will put in a plug for the Clone War cartoons*, as they are a) official cannon, b) generally well written, and c) feature lot's 'o scum. But they're not books, and so don't fit what you're looking for. 
*Rebels also, as it's by the same team.
I've enjoyed 90% of what I've read. Someone divided it into 2 categories, but I say there are 3.
Pre-prequels: Everything from 20,000 BBY to just before the PT (67 BBY). A lot of the early OLD OLD Republic stuff is very well written, but I was never to connected to this period because I love what happens after the movies, not before. I'd definitely recommend Dawn of the Jedi though, it's a pretty good book with a lot about origins.
New Republic era: Everything from seconds after Ender (4 ABY) to about 20-ish ABY. Most people will recommend stuff written in this era. The most popular is the Thrawn Trilogy (beginning with Heir to the Empire*) and X-wing, particularly the Allston books (Starfighters of Adumar is definitely in my top 5 SW books). There's tons of stuff in this period you can get into.
New Jedi Order (NJO) and beyond era: This one definitely receives the most flak from EU haters and conformists**. I won't spoil anything, but NJO itself gives the feeling of the galaxy in a new era of darkness and chaos, and books after it feel like the galaxy trying to recover from an apocalyptic time. I atleast give it a try before writing it off
*stupid Disney even copies book names (Heir to the Jedi??!!)
** meaning those who must have everything conforming to standards and reject change
Try these:
Thrawn trilogy by Timothy Zahn (what most of us read first from the EU)
X-Wing series by Aaron Allston and Michael Stackpole (Loads of X-Wing pilots you'll know from the game)
Shadows of the Empire (Dash Rendar and co)
You might like the "Tales from..." books as they flesh out characters from the films, such as the other bounty hunters from Empire Strikes Back. I can see the above points though, that it's a bit weird how every single character has an important back story.
Avoid these:
Bounty Hunter trilogy by K.W. Jeter
Black Fleet Crisis trilogy by Michael P. Kube-McDowell
New Jedi Order series and anything that comes afterwards
I am re-reading the Bounty Hunter ones for the first time in, well, over a decade. Jeter is so wordy, the chapters take like 20 pages to tell you Boba Fett picked up a blaster. Only re-read the first one, and the story is kind of interesting, the writing is just so bad.
Zahn has some other books, too, dealing with a stormtrooper unit around the time of the original trilogy. They're pretty fun.
I will put in a plug for the Clone War cartoons*, as they are a) official cannon, b) generally well written, and c) feature lot's 'o scum. But they're not books, and so don't fit what you're looking for.
*Rebels also, as it's by the same team.
Clone Wars tried hard but I think they were really hamstrung by having Lucas directly involved still. I find Rebels to be much better overall.
Wow, lots of EU hate going on here. I've loved probably 90% of the post Battle of Yavin stuff. Yeah there's some real duds(dark nest trilogy). But the evolution of the universe and it's characters is amazing.
I prefer the X-wing books, and the "Tales from ..." series. I'm not a huge fan of Jedi, Galaxy-shattering events, or super-weapons ... which rules out a lot of the EU material.
Also, if you're into comics or graphic novels, the "Star Wars Omnibus" series can be picked up for Kindle or Kindle Apps via Amazon. The whole X-wing Rogue Squadron comic series is available in three volumes and is a great linkage to the X-wing minis game (bio of Soontir Fel, anyone?)
I prefer the X-wing books, and the "Tales from ..." series. I'm not a huge fan of Jedi, Galaxy-shattering events, or super-weapons ... which rules out a lot of the EU material.
Again something else i hated about a lot of EU stuff...it essentially rehashes the 'death star' plot.
Empire/empire offshoot/crime lord invents a machine that kills planets Sunchrusher, world devastator, finds the prototype deathstar etc
Yawn......
Its why i liked 'crimson empire' as a graphic novel, the idea of a schism in the empire between those loyal to the ideals of the emperor (like Kir kanos) and the power grabbing regional moffs etc was a much more cerebral plot line than just rehashing the 'oh no, the bad guys will blow up the universe, we've only got this slim chance to save it!'
I prefer the X-wing books, and the "Tales from ..." series. I'm not a huge fan of Jedi, Galaxy-shattering events, or super-weapons ... which rules out a lot of the EU material.
Again something else i hated about a lot of EU stuff...it essentially rehashes the 'death star' plot.
Empire/empire offshoot/crime lord invents a machine that kills planets Sunchrusher, world devastator, finds the prototype deathstar etc
Yawn......
Its why i liked 'crimson empire' as a graphic novel, the idea of a schism in the empire between those loyal to the ideals of the emperor (like Kir kanos) and the power grabbing regional moffs etc was a much more cerebral plot line than just rehashing the 'oh no, the bad guys will blow up the universe, we've only got this slim chance to save it!'
Yea, unfortunately, people hate the same old rehashes, but they hate the new fresh ideas even more (e.g. NJO or LotF), so a lot of it ends up the same.
You might like Choices of One. It is an almost directly before ESB novel about Mara Jade and a renegade stormtrooper team. I think it's the first book where stormies are actually like real soldiers. (heresy I know! 
) You also get to see the beginnings of Thrawn and Pelleaon. It's almost like a prequel to the Thrawn trilogy (and it's written by Zahn as well). I guarantee you, it has no super weapons or stereotypes
1. Tales of the Bounty Hunters
2. Death Star
Will just watch the prequels tonight then......
The prequels always seemed like bad fan fiction to me. I can't imagine any of the EU novels being much worse.
Again something else i hated about a lot of EU stuff...it essentially rehashes the 'death star' plot.
Empire/empire offshoot/crime lord invents a machine that kills planets Sunchrusher, world devastator, finds the prototype deathstar etc
Yawn......
Its why i liked 'crimson empire' as a graphic novel, the idea of a schism in the empire between those loyal to the ideals of the emperor (like Kir kanos) and the power grabbing regional moffs etc was a much more cerebral plot line than just rehashing the 'oh no, the bad guys will blow up the universe, we've only got this slim chance to save it!'
Well I hate to point out the obvious, but that is exactly what Lucas did in Return of the Jedi. At the risk of incurring the wrath of the Star Wars faithful, I have to say that Return of the Jedi is where I think Lucas started to go off the rails. It is like a sneak peak of all the problems that were in store for us in the prequels. Maybe some time in the future, after I've stocked up on flame-resistant underwear, I will post a list of the problems I have with ROTJ.