Astronomy & Universe beginnings book recommendations please - for a layperson

I read Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" years ago and I tried to read some more advanced stuff, but I got stuck and couldn't wrap my head around some of the theories.

I like some of the TV shows on science and PBS, but I really like sitting down with a real book and learning at my own pace.

Anyone recommend some good Astronomy and "beginnings of the universe" type books ?

I don't really get into the hard theoretical stuff as they start out simple and lose me with hard core science that I don't understand.

Thanks GLP