I'm sure others will suggest good textbooks. I have little experience with texts, but a lot of experience with recently published books about astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology. There are many good ones, and they're all educational. For your particular circumstances, I suggest:

• The Runaway Universe, the Race to Find the Future of the Cosmos [2000] -- Donald Goldsmith
  
• The Universe at Midnight, Observations Illuminating the Cosmos [2001] -- Ken Croswell
  
• Black Holes and Time Warps, Einstein's Outrageous Legacy [1994] -- Kip Thorne (You'll love the intro science "fiction" tale that is technically accurate.)
  
• Chasing Hubble's Shadows, The Search for Galaxies at the Edge of Time [2006] -- Jeff Kanipe
  
• Cosmic Clouds: Birth, death, and recycling in the galaxy [1997] -- James Kaler

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