All of the books are standalone; some benefit from more knowledge of the worldbuild than others. A pretty common box set to find in stores is Consider Phlebas/Player of Games/Use of Weapons.
I'd skip Consider Phlebas first, even though it's got a lot of worldbuild - it's not very gripping as a first book. Choose between Player of Games and Use of Weapons depending on what you like to read - Player of Games is more cerebral and about, well, games, while Use of Weapons is like a marvellous James Bond flick.
If either of those maintains your interest, I'd then read from a mix of Surface Detail (great, great characters) or Excession (if you like the Ship AIs). At that point you'll either love 'im or hate 'im enough to go off of summaries for the rest.
no subject
I'd skip Consider Phlebas first, even though it's got a lot of worldbuild - it's not very gripping as a first book. Choose between Player of Games and Use of Weapons depending on what you like to read - Player of Games is more cerebral and about, well, games, while Use of Weapons is like a marvellous James Bond flick.
If either of those maintains your interest, I'd then read from a mix of Surface Detail (great, great characters) or Excession (if you like the Ship AIs). At that point you'll either love 'im or hate 'im enough to go off of summaries for the rest.