Well, you definitely don't need to read them in order, except for reading Look to Windward sometime after Consider Phlebas.
What are your feelings on ebooks? I feel like a Kindle would be great for you, considering how much you travel. (Travel was a nightmare for me book-wise before I got my kindle.)
I know I don't have to, but I do generally prefer to read things in chronological order. If nothing else, to be able to watch the progression of the writer's mind.
I tried a kindle at one point, but I have trouble reading a screen for more than 15 minutes or so.. Hence my interaction with the internet being almost exclusively creating content haha
Fair!
I figured out a little late that when I read ideas out of chronological order I robbed certain ones of their genius. Hard to do when it is all sort of presented buffet style, but something I'm more aware of now