Foundation vs Foundation and Empire: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Psychohistoire, Vie extraterrestre, Psychohistory, Long Now Manual for Civilization, Life on other planets, American literature

Cover of Foundation

Foundation Isaac Asimov · 1951 ★★★★☆ 4.3 200 pages · ≈ 3 h 42 m · Moderate Find on Amazon

vs

Cover of Foundation and Empire

Foundation and Empire Isaac Asimov · 1945 ★★★★☆ 4.2 224 pages · ≈ 4 h 09 m · Challenging Find on Amazon

The verdict

Ratings are close: 4.3 vs 4.2 — either is a safe pick by score.
Foundation is the easier read (Moderate), Foundation and Empire more demanding (Challenging).

Side by side