Not against the rules at all!

While I don't want to discourage further recommendations, I'll direct you towards the Crusades section of our booklist as a start. You can access that by scrolling down on this page.

Lucky for you there are a ton of great books on the Crusades which cover a whole range of topics for any given level of interest or time!

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There are three general histories of the Crusades as a whole I recommend. They're all great, but they're also very different lengths, so my advice for picking one is just choose based on how much time you want to devote to the subject (if you're time investment is greater than any one book here, I recommend reading two of them, seeing how different scholars approach the same subject is a fascinating and important part of historical research).

1. Jonathan Riley-Smith The Crusades, Riley-Smith is sort of the intellectual grandfather of basically all of Crusades studies right now. His work is extremely influential, and while a lot of work has been done since he published this book it still stands as a great survey history. This is the short volume if you just want to dip a toe in to see if you like it.
2. Thomas Asbride, The Crusades, here's our middle-weight book. Asbridge is an engaging writer and his book is an excellent summary of the full scope of the Crusading movement. It's also available in eBook and audiobook if that's your scene.
3. Chris Tyerman, God's War, cards on the table, this is the one I haven't read all of yet. I've read several of Tyerman's other books, though, and I've dipped into this on on occasion. Tyerman's book is about 1000 pages long (not an exaggeration) depending on which version you buy, and it covers a lot of information in that span. It's not the last word on the subject, I know at least one scholar who thinks Tyerman downplays the role of the church in favour of secular leaders/motivations, but it's one that has to be taken seriously. This is a long and a dense book, but it is also a general history that an engaged reader with no background in the subject can pick up and read.

Beyond those big three, there are a few other books I like to recommend as well.

1. Paul Cobb, The Race for Paradise, this is the history of the Crusades from the perspective of Muslims in the near-east. You could honestly probably read this without any prior knowledge, but I think it helps to have some understanding first. It's a great companion piece to any of the books above and it's only ~200 pages long. Well worth your time.
2. Peter Frankopan, A Call from the East, this is the First Crusade from the perspective of the Byzantine Empire. It's a great book, but you should only read it after reading a more general history. Frankopan assumes the reader is familiar with the major events of the First Crusade and so skips over several key events because they didn't have a major impact on Byzantium, which could cause confusion for a new reader.
3. Chris Tyerman (ed.) Chronicles of the First Crusade, this is a narrative of the First Crusade compiled from the primary sources we have describing those events. It's a great way to engage with primary source material if you're new to it and Tyerman does an admirable job putting together a coherent narrative while also including the sometimes contradictory accounts of the various medieval authors.