Two books that I enjoyed were...
"At Home" by Bill Bryson, (of Appalachian Trail book "A Walk in The Woods") It's a wide ranging look at the history & reason for the different rooms you can find in a house. It's chock-a-block full of interesting bits history, and, made me so happy to have been born in the second half of the 20th century.

"The Age of Wonder" by Richard Holmes which is all about science at the end of the 18th century. Sounds dry, but it was a really interesting read. It sagged a bit in the middle when the author gets caught up in the poetry of one of the scientists, but the stories of Joseph Banks who sailed with Ctp. Cook; Caroline Herschel, who discovered lots of comets; the invention of the safety lantern for coal miners which saved the lives of 100s of miners; and Mungo Park (awesome name!) who explored, and died in, Africa, were so interesting!