When I was 9 or 10, our teacher read The Boxcar Kids to us. It shaped my vision of the world as much as or more than Swiss Family Robinson and Robinson Crusoe.

I've never read Tolkien (not a fan of long novels). My favorite Inklings are Charles Williams and Dorothy L. Sayers. For an insight into the inspiration for the group, check out the fantasy "The Man Who Was Thursday" by G. K. Chesterton (if memory serves, it's not particularly strong on female characters).

For an older (1950) pop-sci book about information (not data), you might enjoy "The Human Use of Human Beings" by Norbert Wiener.