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Along the lines of what others said, find books on topics that interest you. Equally important is finding authors that write well and make the topic interesting. The local library can help so that you don't waste money on duds.

Some that I had no trouble finishing were

A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II, Gerhard L. Weinberg (a huge book but a significant part of it is the bibliography)

The Grey Seas Under: The Perilous Rescue Mission of a N.A. Salvage Tug , Farley Mowat

Pretty much anything by John Keegan, a war historian.

This is a good time to read Grey Seas Under since it's about a Canadian rescue tug that rescues ships that are floundering in bad storms. I think I may have read it three times, twice certainly. It's been several years since the last time so it's time again. Be forewarned that it's slow in the beginning, but once it picks up it's a great read.