25 Books to Read This December

Oliver has long reigned as one of our most beloved observers of nature, of the curious customs of canines, of time’s toll on humans—in other words, life. In her latest work, she moves from poet to essayist, ruminating on the intersection between literature and the natural world, and the influences of writers such as Whitman and Emerson. Throughout, Oliver is a messenger of curiosity and wonder, seeing her surroundings with the eyes of a child and the wisdom of an elder.