Which texts are the most important to read in the Khuddaka Nikaya and why? My preference would be a Theravada based answer to the following question:

Which texts are the most important to read in the Khuddaka Nikaya and
why?

Thank you. :)
The Khuddaka Nikaya (&quot;minor collection&quot;) is the minor collection of texts within the Pali Canon.
It contains 15 - 18 texts within it.
In my opinion, the five most important texts within KN are:

Dhammapada (&quot;path of the Dhamma / true teachings&quot;)
Itivuttaka (&quot;as it was said&quot;)
Udana (&quot;inspired utterances&quot;)
Theragata &amp; Therigata
Sutta Nipata (&quot;section of the discourses&quot;)

The Dhammapada is hardcore and to the point.
The Itivuttaka is easy to read, heartwood and contains some important explanatory teachings that appear not found elsewhere (eg. Iti 44, Iti 49, Iti 96); even though these teachings are related to the core teachings of the suttas.
The Udana is fun but appears to contain some probably belated, miraculous yet amusing texts (such as new born children talking dhamma). It also contains lots of hardcore illuminating wisdom teachings.
The Theragata &amp; Therigata are mature.
I listed Sutta Nipata on the bottom because, due to its nature of often being in &quot;verse&quot; (vs &quot;prose&quot;), the language is often more archaic thus vague. Also, it contains what appear to be belated texts, such as Metta &amp; Maha-Mangala Sutta.
The other texts are best avoided, appearing to be belated texts loaded with superstition &amp; wrong views, such as Jataka, other past lives books &amp; Milindapanha. These texts do show however how quickly the Buddha-Dhamma degenerated. The Paṭisambhidāmagga commentary was obviously not composed by Venerable Sariputta and is often inaccurate.