Start with one volume
Try Blue Box, Hirayasumi, Historie, The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All, or Isshiki-san Wants to Know About Love. One official volume is enough to understand the voice and visual rhythm.
Add genre variety
Mix Magical Explorer, A Tale of the Secret Saint, The Vermilion Mask, Inherit the Winds, and Shangri-La Frontier so your queue is not all one tone.
Avoid turning it into homework
Reading ahead is optional. Stop before the material you want the anime to reveal, and use libraries or official digital previews when a long series feels expensive.