Books are my wheelhouse. Don't do TV. Red mentioned Wilbur Smith! I have the entire collection...River God is a must read! Wilbur did, however, get a bit elementary in his last 3 books...
Having spent my life in kitchens, Odd Thomas has the best short-order lingo EVER!
Stephen King's 11/22/63 is one of the best 'time travel' novels (kennedy assassination)
Ken follett's 'The Pillars of the earth' is a must read, the sequel, 'World without End' is a fair encore as well.
Anything Michener...
The Drunken Botanist was a natural for me...as "I Am The Drunken Gardener"
Haruki Murakami to weird ya out (The Wind-up bird chronicles)
anything Eric Larsen (especially Thunderstruck...Marconi, Tesla, Edison)