Per Philosophy, it should be noted right off the bat that the material are difficult and deep. Richard Swinburne's The Coherence of Theism, for example, is one of the most challenging books I read in my entire life--and I didn't even finish it. Suffice to say, books that are close to the Philosophy box are quite taxing. If you're into that kind of stuff, well, all the more power to you.
For most lay people, C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity, Tim Keller's The Reason for God, Morris' God and the Philosopher, and William Lane Craig's Reasonable Faith should contain enough philosophy yet still be very readable.
Per material related to science, again, the reading is heavy and difficult. I find material from Hugh Ross, Rana Fazale, and Polkinghorne quite challenging. You will have to have a good grasp on general science and scientific concepts/terms in order to follow their discourse. Ross and Fazale do provide simpler, more digestible pieces at their website, www.reasons.org
As far as science is concerned, I think most people would be satisfied with the material from the Intelligent Design community. Illustra Media's DVDs/videos, as well as books and articles from various authors (Meyer, Axe, Behe, Wells, Dembski, etc.) should be sufficiently scientific, informative, and approachable.
Notice that I included some material from Theistic Evolutionists on the chart. The proponents of Theistic Evolution adhere to--and affirm--the more traditional view of Evolution, but they argue that, somewhere in the process of evolution, God "breathed" HIs spirit into a more "modern man," and that's how we became sentient beings (this is my summary of their position). This view is proposed by Francis Collins, Deborah Haarsma, Dennis Venema, and others associated with BioLogos (biologos.com).
There is an ongoing dispute between the Intelligent Design folks and Theistic Evolutionists. Recently, Stephen Meyer (from the Intelligent Design side) published a book titled Theistic Evolution: A Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Critique. This is very informative book as to why Meyer disagrees with TE. While I personally find the ID's argument more persuasive, I think it's important to acquaint yourself with the TE argument as well. For one, while TE' acceptance of the traditional evolutionary process may be incompatible with your view, find out more about their excellent insights on the DNA. It's fascinating. It should be noted that Francis Collins wishes to agree to disagree with the ID folks.
Comments