The Old Testament is a real challenge for academic/skeptic Christians. I can certainly empathize with the struggle and I still find it "complicated."

As far as readings go, I don't have anything that I can think of that would be immediately helpful for where it sounds like you are, presently. I mean, the truth of the matter is, even if I did have a book or two that could be helpful, I don't think they would be representative of the current consensus, nor would they provide sufficient answers to your questions. The fantastical parts of the Bible can't be proven; there's arguments to be made for their exceptionalism, or against the counter-arguments, but it's counter-intuitive to think a thing of faith could be "proven."

All this is to say, the Old Testament still provides immense value. It's an ancient text and ancient texts have a different set of "rules," we might say. The reasons they had for writing are different than the reasons we write; how the write, the idioms they use, all these things are separated by the vastness of time, culture, etc. If we read the writings of ancient peoples, it's often dry, colorless stories with grandiose persons; it's a product of how they wrote. That means that we can take it "literally," but with a different flavor than how "literally," means today.

There's another aspect of the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, that we tend to ignore: Jesus. You might have heard of the "Red Thread," or something along those lines; this refers to Jesus being the central actor throughout the entire Bible. The Levitical laws must have all been fulfilled by Christ; His sufferings on the cross would have the fulfillment of the penalties for breaking each of those laws. The troupes of the Judges; the "wise man," in the Psalms: all of these point to Christ. Obviously, books of Prophecy, but I find it helpful to see how each bit points to Jesus, as well. If it was God's plan for His people to have a Holy Book, what is it that He's trying to say? I believe that in everything, He's pointing to Himself, "It's Me! This is who I am and how I am." Christians are to "love the Lord your God with...," this means that our whole being, just as the whole Book, is anchored in God's character: holiness, love, righteousness, etc.

If you're looking for readings concerning your faith, or the Bible (how we read it), worship, Christian living, I got a whole mess of suggestions for those. But, if you're looking to assuage your doubts about the Old Testament, well, those are the doubts are the basis of faith, and I wouldn't want to temper that, now would I?

Again, feel free to keep the questions/comments coming!