There is a nice feature in the latest issue of the Star Wars Insider, issue #58. It is a who's who of the New Jedi Order. While I am not a reader of the novels, I did find it very interesting. You may want to check it out.
I don't read the books either, but I'm always interested in them. I love the essential chronlogy book, and the article was good to see how everybody fit together. The mag as a whole is a good read this time.
The New Jedi Order books have timelines towards the front of the books, putting all the books in chronological order. It also has a quick star chart of most of the major systems.
I'd wish that they would put out a Map of the Galaxy withh every single planet mentioned in the SW Universe. I know that the NJO books are missing some and they always have the big arrows indicating the Vong's path of destruction.