Well I have the Myst Reader. That's all three books in one.

The story should go something like: Book of Ti'ana, Book of Atrus, Myst, Riven, Book of D'ni, Exile, Revelation, Uru, End of Ages. Although the books should be read in the order they were released: Book of Atrus, Book of Ti'ana, Book of D'ni.

And no, they aren't horrible. They were brilliantly built games, which had some very interesting and thought-out puzzles, not to mention beautiful worlds to explore and a really great story line (and history of D'ni in the Uru games).

Edit: If you played realMyst, you'd probably see a more direct link to Riven, although in the original it's pretty clear that Myst ends in the same place you start Riven (K'veer), and Atrus actually tells you he'll be needing your help again to fight a tougher foe.