I like the Redwall book series of books by Brian Jacques. Though often found in the children's book sections of libraries and bookstores, I find his stories (or yarns, as he calls them) to be remarkably well written, not the least bit condescending, and surprisingly mature, emphasizing virtues such as freedom from cruelty and avenging the death of loved ones. Read them! Start with Redwall, then read Mossflower. I won't need to remind you to read other books in the series--you'll do so on your own.
Some of my favorite quotes (digging through backpack--not there! I guess I'll find them later)
I'm also a C++ programmer, but they're a dime a dozen these days.
I wrote this on a fellow Wikipedian's talk page, and I felt it was worth preserving:
Я не понимаю русский язык — говорите по-английски, пожалуйста!
Ja ne ponimaju Russkij jazyk -- govorite po-Anglijski, požalujsta!
Translation, please!
You got it: "I don't understand Russian -- please speak in English."
(Written in Russian, of course.)