A number of years back, our author went to seek out a book by some ancient Greek thinker – the name starting with an L, or perhaps a C – called On Delight of the Nature of Things, or maybe In Delight at the Nature of Things. Either way, it turned out the book didn't exist. Our author found lots of stuff on measuring the circumference and mass of the planet Earth, and lots of pages about salt, dirt and water, but not the book that she was looking for. So, in the end, she decided to write the book herself. And here it is, or at least a start on it: eighty-five everyday objects, concerns and states scrutinised, given a voice really, and which together make up On Delight of the Nature of Things, or In Delight at the Nature of Things, or, more simply, Santiago.