Marya Hornbacher's 2014 Essay Gift List

The following books are those I found most dense and chewy in 2014.  They caused a satisfying degree of brain-ache. The language is delicious except in one instance, when it is not, but is still a good book. This list contains no theme or through line or common denominator that I can discern. I have not organized them. I have not elaborated on them. I think you will like them and I think you should read them, and with that, the list:

Eco, Ego, Eros: Essays in Philosophy, Science, and Spirituality [buy!]

You Animal Machine (The Golden Greek) (Eleni Sikelianos) [buy!]

Sidewalks (Valeria Luisella, trans. Christina MacSweeny)

Rocket and Lightship: Essays on Literature and Ideas (Adam Kirsch) [buy!]

Global Muckraking: 100 Years of Investigative Journalism from Around the World (ed. Anya Shiffrin) [buy!]

#Newsfail: Climate Change, Feminism, Gun Control, and Other Fun Stuff We Talk About Because Nobody Else Will (Jamie Kilstein and Allison Kilkenny) [buy!]

--Marya