This reminds me of a book I read recently you might like, if you are in the market for short essays: Periodic Tales. Because the essays are short, one sometimes wishes for greater depth, and the author does go on about masculine and feminine symbolism a bit more than I think is warranted (which it is sometimes, when he's discussing historical attitudes to various elements). But it's a decent library book.

(The section on lead mentions the Thinker, since his butt is filled with it to balance the sculpture.)