I will admit that despite a almost a life long interest in the subject, I haven't read a lot of recent books on the topic. I have read Disclosure and I read Communion a number of years ago. I have access to a couple of old IUR issues.
I plan on obtaining a couple of Jacques Vallee's books, but I am hoping that other forum members might give their recommendations.
If I remember correctly from an episode of the Paracast, David was trying to get a copy of the Conscious Universe. Is it any good? And I think another book from Project Gutenberg about an investigation of a haunting was recommended on another episode, but the name escapes me.
There's a bunch of threads with various recommendations.
Anyway, next to the obvious and excellent Vallée, I personally have some recommendations.
BOOKS ABOUT UFO's
Stanton Friedman's
"Flying Saucers and Science" (2008 ). Agree or disagree? It's an enjoyable, albeit ETH focused, read. MJ12's notwithstanding.
Micho Kaku's "Physics of the Impossible" (2008 ). Fascinating book, hugely accessible. Chapter 8 also covers UFO's, should be a mandatory reading for skeptics.
BOOKS ABOUT EXTRA TERRESTRIAL LIFE
Feinberg and Shapiro 's
"Life Beyond Earth" (1980 ) is my all time favorite. A class in out-of-the-box thinking! Sure it's quite old, but I've never found a book that comes even close to it.
Seth Shostak's
"Confessions of an Alien Hunter" (2009 ). I haven't finished this book yet but so far I'm enjoying it. You will most likely want to skip Chapter Four and its superficial, biased treatment of UFO's. The focus here is on demolishing things such as (yawn) the face on Mars and Roswell. A brief mention of Nick Redfern's Roswell theory. Nothing you haven't heard already.
Still, the rest of the book is pretty good.
Frank Tipler's paper
"Extraterrestrial intelligent beings do not exist" (1980 )
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1980QJRAS..21..267T Interesting counter-argument. Agree or disagree, it's well written nevertheless.
CONSCIOUSNESS?
I have not read the "Conscious Universe". The nature of consciousness, as a topic, interests me.
Sadly, it seems that nowdays the mystery of consciousness has also become a building block for all sorts of New Agey hogwash.
Amit Goswami's
"Physics of the Soul" (2001 ). I enjoyed this "out there" book. It could definitely use a major editorial make-over but it's a fascinating read, if you can put up with Goswami's style.
Chapter 13 discusses (possible) links between UFO's, abductions, NDE's and Gaia - consciousness.
Ben Goertzel's
"The Hidden Pattern" (2006 ), especially Chapter 8 - [Quantum Reality and Mind]. This book is as much about building AI as it is about investigating how minds (not necessarily human) work. Quite technical but also mind-expanding.
My two cents.