Some of the X-Wing stuff is good, and it has very little connection to the overall universe. So you could technically read them as standalone, especially the Aaron Allston stuff. Starfighters of Adumar especially. It has Wedge Antilles, but that's about the only real connection to the EU aside from them flying X-Wings and talking to Leia at the beginning.

The EU is... odd. My brother has most of the books, so I get to browse on occasion, but it's never drawn me. Zahn's plots and his villain had me for a bit, plus Stackpole and Allston for their X-Wing series, but nothing else. *shiver* Kevin J. Anderson. Evil.