Does anyone have any recommendations for good books about the .NET platform? I also might want to learn C#; are there any particularly good books about that? Is learning this stuff worth shelling out hard-earned moneys for?

Well C++ stayed the same, :0). I''m not too sure of any good books i''ve seen on .Net, maybe search for books you have now and see if they have a .Net version of them on Amazon.com or some similar site.

For a start, try "Programming C#, 2nd edition". Net is a big area to learn. Look at Oreilly and Wrox books on NET. platform.