I've always been rather dubious about Penrose's approach to consciousness. He seems to be of the school of "Put two metaphysically mysterious things together, in the hope that we can explain one in terms of the other."

I'm reading 'The Road to Reality. A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe'. Be warned: Penrose doesn't use the word 'complete' lightly. Well worth the effort however.

Since you mentioned The Road to Reality, I have to put in a plug for Feynman's Lectures on Physics.

Road to Reality is nice but the other two books you mention are not so much. Biology is very much a show-me science and if you can't actually prove or demonstrate it then ... I dunno what to say. Don't bother anyone with it? That sounds harsh but it is the case.