The published order of the books is not chronological order, but, I believe unless an author explicitly says so, one should always read their books in published

The published order of the books is not chronological order, but, I believe unless an author explicitly says so, one should always read their books in published order. The way to look at them is they are glimpses into Bond's past. A few of them are several stories, in fact. That being said, the first published is also Bond's first mission so no harm in starting with Casino Royale either way.