Reading history like a novel

I am reading two books at the moment, borrowed from the local library. One is on Norman kings in England, the other is on Vikings. I am not a historian, but I had to learn a fairly important amount of medieval history during my studies. I love history, so it was no problem. I don't need it anymore, but I kept a keen interest in it, so sometimes I get a few history books from the library, dry academic ones or more "mainstream" works and I read them just for fun. I was happily surprised that I did not forget everything from my paleography classes and that I could still read bits of ancient texts, providing they were in a clear handwriting. Not much of them, but still...

I am not into historical novels much, unless it goes beyond the genre (it's a cliché expression if there is one, I know). I say this and I am shamelessly forgetting that I love historical dramas (such as this one) and some of my favourite books can be considered historical novels. Anyway, I love reading history the same way I love reading a good novel, with the same feeling of following a drama. I don't know if that makes sense, or if anybody else feels the same.