I don't know if this is the right place to ask but lately I've been greatly intrigued by the histories of Greece and Rome, my question being to really understand how or why things happened as they did in history should you start with texts about the events and then culture? Or start with culture and then read about the general history?
With any subject it’s best to start with the general overview then move into more in depth research. It will help you get a good background and the sources cited should be your first steps into the more focused areas.
Ancient Rome is my favorite subject, and as another poster said, start with a book that has a general overview of the periods you want to study. And as you read, I'm sure there will be event in history that are more interesting than others. Then move onto another book that is specifically about those people or areas or time that you found interesting.
For instance, there a million "history of ancient Rome" books, but Livy and Plutarch are some of the best, since they lived in that time
As for determining what sorts of books to read, others are providing suggestions.
If you want some recommendations about time periods or subjects, there's an AskHistorians book list with a "Europe" section.