Mark has posted what must surely be the definitive overview and guide to the Vorkosigan Saga. If you’ve any interest in reading these books, start with Mark’s post.
For myself, I snagged Warrior’s Apprentice and Mountains of Mourning from the Baen Library. I’ll probably get around to the rest eventually – I’m less interested in Cordelia’s story than Miles’ exploits though. At any rate, figuring out where to start and what to skip just got a LOT easier thanks to Mark’s due diligence.
Thanks for the kind words! I was thinking I should have geared a portion of the post to be more of a broad overview of why the series is worth exploring in general and what it’s about, but it’s nice to know that it serves a purpose for folks who are only partly familiar with the series.
I’m really looking forward to Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance (aka “the Ivan book”), which is apparently out right now in galley form, but officially comes out later this year…
IIRC, the shorts in Borders of Infinity were originally published in Analog, though the framing story was written specially for the collection.
You can get almost all the novels legally for $6 if you buy the Cryoburn ebook from Baen eBooks–that’ll get you access to the CDROM ISO which includes Cryoburn, Cordelia’s Honor, Young Miles, Miles, Mystery and Mayhem, Miles Errant, Miles, Mutants & Microbes, and Miles in Love, along with a bunch of other extras (travel notes, photos, essays, speeches, interviews).
Bujold wrote a bit about suggested reading orders (it was a pretty popular topic of discussion on Usenet rec.arts.sf.written in the 90s as well).