I am a new reader and I was interested in reading "the prince", but in the gutenberg edition it is suggested in the preface that I should be reading "discourses on the first decade of titus livius" at the same time as "the prince".
Is that necessary? I am not really interested in italian history or politics at this moment, I just want to start getting into reading more and go through some classics.
I am also open to recommendations, as I have went a long time without reading. I have really enjoyed Dumas works in the past, but I am open to other types of literature.

it's pretty short I think you can just read it.

>>24577287 (OP)
>tips for reading "the prince", and maybe reading in general
grab the book and face the cover towards you. the using your left hand open the book and from top to bottom, left to right read all printed word before flipping the page and doing the same thing again.

>>24577287 (OP)
1. Always skip the preface
2. “you need to read X to understand Y” is a rabbit hole that you don’t need to bother with. Just read the book

>>24577287 (OP)
>I should be reading "discourses on the first decade of titus livius" at the same time as "the prince".
That would only be if you wanted a full idea about Machiavelli's politics. But if you want to read the Prince it works completely fine as a standalone book, it's short and it tells you exactly what it means. You would honestly be better off just reading his Wikipedia page and that of Cesar Borga's and diving right into it since that's really all the context you'll need.

>>24577787
>Always skip the preface
Exactly what my father (English professor) used to say.

>>24577787
>>24577854
Thanks for the tip, its more or less exactly what I was looking for
>>24577605
I am afraid I have to skip some steps, since I am reading on a kindle