Question about batman comics

[AnkeBerg]

I'm kind of new to the whole comic book culture... (I've been reading them four nearly a year now, and those were mostly marvel comics)
I just aquired a lot of batman comics, among which are the folowing titles:

Batman
Batman: Gotham Knights
Batman: Shadow of the Bat
Batman: Streets of Gotham
Batman: The Dark Knight
Batman and Robin
Batman and the Outsiders
Batman Chronicles
Batman Confidential
Batman Family
Batman Incorporated
Detective Comics
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight
Trinity

So, my question is: are all those titles conected by plot in any way, or can I read them one by one in order...

[Restingvoice]

A lot of them have their own stories but every once in a while they have a crossover (Knightfall, No Man's Land)
Some of them stand on their own but make reference to whatever status quo they have at the time
Some of them began because of a plot in a different book and they're all part of a larger plot (Batman and Robin and Batman Inc)

[Laufeyson]

I'm kind of new to the whole comic book culture... (I've been reading them four nearly a year now, and those were mostly marvel comics)
I just aquired a lot of batman comics, among which are the folowing titles:

Batman
Batman: Gotham Knights
Batman: Shadow of the Bat
Batman: Streets of Gotham
Batman: The Dark Knight
Batman and Robin
Batman and the Outsiders
Batman Chronicles
Batman Confidential
Batman Family
Batman Incorporated
Detective Comics
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight
Trinity

So, my question is: are all those titles conected by plot in any way, or can I read them one by one in order...

It depends on what era are you reading. If you are reading from era before Morisson (Rucka, O'Neil, Brubaker, or Dixon) then the Batman is usually connected with Detective Comics. But nowadays, Batman and Detective Comics can be read separately. The same thing can be said, with the other.

Batman: Gotham Knights, Incorporated, Trinity, Batman and Robin, Streets of Gotham, and the Outsiders are books that you want to read if you want to read Batman's interaction with other heroes such as his family (Robin etc). You don't have to read Batman or Detective Comics to understand the story, but look at wiki can help you to understand the connection between the character, especially Streets of Gotham (I won't spoil it with you).

Shadow of the Bat, The Dark Knight, Chronicles, Confidential, and Legends of the Dark Knight are stories standalone that can be read without reading Batman or Detective Comics. If I remember it right, the timeline of these series is Legends of the Dark Knight>Shadow of the Bat>Chronicles>Confidential>The Dark Knight. I especially recommend reading the Legends of Dark Knight for stories such as Gothic and Shaman.

So to put it simple, all of those books can be read one by one in order and without order, because aside from No Man's Land and Bruce Wayne's Fugitive, those stories usually don't co exist and can be read separatedly.