I'm about to finish this piece about historical materialism, I think I now have a basic understanding on Marx and Engels philosophy. I want to read more, mainly about the capitalism-imperialism connection. What other books by M&E do I need to read before I jump into Lenin, and when I do start reading Lenin, where to start? Thanks com
Utopian and Scientific is mostly the introduction and first chapter of the Anti-Dühring, which is in my opinion Engel's finest philosophical work. I find Engels much easier to understand than Marx, and in the Anti-Dühring he goes through the entirety of the Marxist philosophical framework while giving examples and dunking on Dühring and other liberals and utopian socialists. See for instance the beginning of chapter 10 where Engels talks about the pitfalls of thinking in abstractions, which I find infinitely quotable.
Since you've already started it you might as well continue reading it.