Books on Roman and Greek History

Hi all, well it's about that time. I'm close to turning 30 and have already started smoking meat, so the next obvious progression is learning about Roman history. I just started listing to "The History of Rome" podcast by Mike Duncan on Spotify. The podcast has been really good so far and has got me more interested in the history of this time period.

I'm looking for some good recommendations on books from the time period that not just regurgitate legend and lore but also contextualize what is happening. I know that modern society and law have large foundations in Greek/Roman history but in the short time I've been listening to the podcast I've been surprised that the parallels that can be drawn from today to ancient history and would like to become more well read and educated on this time period.

Thanks in advance!