1) *** “Understanding the Universe: from Quarks to the Cosmos”
by Don Lincoln, 2004. The title of this book highlights how our understanding
of the very big and the very small are closely connected.
2) *** "Einstein's Telescope: The Hunt for Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe" by Evalyn Gates, 2009. This is a very easy read and will bring you right up to date on cosmology and the importance of gravitational lensing.