How about Crash Course: World History?

Why not start not with the history of things you don't know but the history of things you do already know? For instance, say you love films, maybe Westerns or war films or something, why not read historical books about that where you can learn about how and why the films were made and what impact they had?

Or any other form of cultural history - you talk about 'something that makes me feel' which to me sounds like you may be interested in micro history, (google Cheese and Worms for a famous example) but this can sometimes feel very unhistorical especially for someone relatively new to reading history since it can border on fiction-esque style. It would certainly fit your 'story' element.

But I'd consider starting with a history of something you're already interested in. Sport for instance - if you like football/soccer you could read all about the founding of the game in an international context, or could look at how football has affected life on a regional level with lots of good work produced on Italian and Spanish politico-cultural football connections.

Does that help? I sense for well-written and accessible cultural and social history I.e. History of things you have a grip on as they're day to day phenomena may be easier and more interesting than delving straight into political narrative or economic history or something. Then again some people get into history via military stuff. For a completely random suggestion, Plutarch's Parallel Lives isn't exactly historically accurate but is a fascinating look into the ancient world and its leaders.

Same here! Now I listen to lectures from "The Teaching Company" and can't get enough. Lots of history courses, taught by engaging profs. The courses on Roman and Greek history by J. Rufus Fears are a wonderful starting place. I've bought about 10 or more courses. Look for used ones on Amazon, eBay. (No, I don't work for them... I just finally found my love of history!) (Edit: typo)

You might want to check out H.G Wells' The Outline of History that guy could tell a story

also The History of Rome Podcast is pretty easy listening

You know what made the difference for me? When I started making connections between things in history that had never seemed connected before. Like how the flourishes in the designs of an Elizabethan chair are reflected in the styles of armor of the period, or how there seems to be some connection between the brutality of the new architecture of the 20's and the politics of the times. How you can begin to sense 'styles' in different periods and you start to get a sense of what was driving people at the time.

Good comparative reading was the way in for me, like check out shrier's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" and then read "Defying Hitler" by Haffner. That's fun, to get a sense of what was happening at different times from different perspectives. Like maybe read "Candide" and then go watch "the Duelists" and "Barry Lyndon".

But anyway, for me, history was no fun at all when it was just a bunch of facts to remember, it was when I started to get these random snippets adding up to pictures of periods that it became more fulfilling. Maybe start with art, for me getting a sense of the art of the periods was really the way in to getting a sense of the "personalities" of the times.

Oh, and read "The end of the world, A history". It's a book about different periods in time that people in various places thought the world was coming to an end. Great stuff.

Good luck!

James Burkes' Connections.

If you have never seen this show, it is exactly what you are looking for, and is 100% awesomesauce amazing.

I also highly recommend Bill Coate's works.

You can learn a lot about history by reading good historical fiction. Jeff Shaara has written a number of entertaining and generally accurate historical fictions of American wars. But, it depends on what topics you're interested in.

I know what you mean about story and meaning and context. I always liked history, but I'm drawn to the same types of books you are. Some of these might be eschewed by "proper" historians, but they're all great reads that manage to teach some history as well. If you're interested in the subject matter, you'd likely enjoy them.

• The Things They Carried. Highly personal, stylized explanation of what Vietnam was like for a combat infantryman. Everyone should read this book.
• A Bridge Too Far. Operation Market-Garden, WW II. Intensely moving, highly informative. One of my favorites
• Is Paris Burning?. Tells the story of the liberation of Paris in WW II. Reads a lot like a thriller.
• Pegasus Bridge. The capture of an important bridge on D-Day by British paratroopers.
• Matterhorn. Another Vietnam book, and though it's a novel it does a fine job of conveying the experience of Vietnam in a historically accurate fashion.

I think that well-done documentaries are a great place to start. There are many documentaries out there which do not do a very good job at being historically accurate, but there are also many that are well-researched, and thrilling.

If you have Netflix, all of Ken Burns' documentaries are available for streaming and they are all very well done and researched historical documentaries on mostly American topics like The Civil War, World War II, The West, and Jazz. They do a great job of giving you interesting and meaningful personal stories while also giving you a great sense of the broader sweep of what's happening in America.

I'm going to take a slightly different approach than the other answers so far by asking you a question: what are you interested in?

Everything has a history. If you're into PC gaming, there are books on that. There are amazing history books on comic books. I am a military aviation nut and there are great books on that subject, as well as incredible museums like the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton Ohio. If you're into cooking there has been a huge increase in the number of good culinary history books out there. If you're into cars, there is a wealth of awesome books on famous cars, carmakers, and racers out there. There are podcasts as well--some good, some bad.

So, I would suggest finding a subject that you're already interested in and starting there. That way, you will already think that the subject is cool/fascinating, which will make it easier to get through any relatively boring parts of whatever source you grab. Then you can branch off from there--either by finding a related subject that catches your interest or by finding an author that grabs your attention and going for their next book.

You can certainly ask for book recommendations here, and the Saturday Sources thread is also a good place to ask for book suggestions.

As a complete shot in the dark, I found Mark Kurlansky's Salt to be easy to read, relatively short (good for when there are kids around as you mentioned), and very interesting. He also has some other awesome books on Cod, Oysters, the Basque History of the World, and a fascinating biography of Birdseye.

I found historical fiction novels were my gateway. Typically they offer a light introduction to the time period and large events, plus the better ones include their sources. If I found the period or person especially fascinating would then read the sources. I found that I have a serious thing for early female leaders and slowly working my way from the British Isles thru France and in to Central Europe.

I started with Margaret George's Mary Queen of Scots which led to Alison Weir (fiction and nonfiction) which led to Jean Plaidy (fiction) which led to Cynthia Harodd-Eagles (fiction) which led to Helen Castor (nonfiction) and so on and so forth. A few of these have audiotapes and Helen Castor has a few series on BBC streaming.

There are a number of well written books that deal with a very limited scope of history, so they are able to read much more like a piece of historical fiction.

In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson looks at the American ambassador to Germany at the time when Hitler was coming to power. Although WWII was ma major focus in college, I had not seen some of the primary sources he used.

Devil in the White City also by Erik Larson is a two part story, one part examines the rise of a serial killer in Chicago the the late 1800's. The other half looks at the logistics of designing and building a World's Fair.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is one of the most engaging and crazy stories I have ever read. It's a survival story and paints really interesting pictures about the Pacific Theater during WWII. I bet this one would be really good as an audiobook.

Bill Bryson's works are always filled with interesting bits and pieces of history. He does a great job balencing travel writing with historical writing. At Home would be another good one on audiobook because each chapter pretty much stands alone, and it would be easy to leave and come back to (which is important with an infant!)

Robert Massie's Dreadnought covers the period before the First World War. He writes in a series of character sketches so you know the people leading the British and German Empires and how France went from enemy to ally and how Germany went the opposite route.

Shelby Foote's The Civil War: a narrative is one of the sources for Ken Burns Civil War series. Highly readable, but three volumes.

i've always been into history, so interest in it has never been a problem for me....

but, if you stories, rather than reams and reams of numbers and names, then you wouldn't go far wrong in looking at the great story of the siege of malta in 1565. this is a great story, with no quarter asked on either side, and certainly none given. during the siege, the muslim commander ordered the heads of captured christians to be fired over the forts walls, to demoralize the knights, in response the grand master ordered that muslim prisoners were to be killed and floated over to the other island nailed to crosses.

also, alexander the great is a great (heh)resouce for stories.

Palmer, Colton and Kramer's A History of the Modern World is a good read. Yes, it's very and explicitly Eurocentric, but a -centric perspective is inevitable if you're looking for a narrative.

It's huge, but it's very accessible.