To read through A Barthes Reader is finally to be left with the image of Barthes as one of the great public teachers of our time, someone who thought out, argued for, and made available several steps in a penetrating reflection on language, sign systems, texts - and what they have to tell us about the concept of the human

Susan Sontag contributes an informative introduction to this collection and arranges his greatest hits chronologically... This is an excellent entree to a thinker whose precepts have often filtered down into mass culture

Barthes's work, along with that of Wilde and Valéry, gives being an aesthete a good name... Defending the senses, he never betrayed the mind

The funniest writer ever to put words on paper

Witty and effortlessly fluid. His books are laugh-out-loud funny

Mr Wodehouse's idyllic world can never stale. He will continue to release future generations from captivity that may be more irksome than our own. He has made a world for us to live in and delight in

The head of my profession

Indispensible, informative and playful ... no two pages are alike, and every page is quite unlike anything else you've ever read.

The greatest comic writer ever

When it comes to humour, there is only one writer who can slay you with a mere flip of the pen. This, of course, is P.G. Wodehouse

Superlative.

Could not be more timely.

The Good Immigrant is that rarest of beasts, a truly necessary book.

I was deeply affected by The Good Immigrant, a vital and often bitingly funny series of personal essays

Should become required reading for a new UK citizenship test – one to be taken by everyone who was born here, that is.

A fascinating read

I was expecting something serious, even upsetting. The Good Immigrant is both at times, but the 21 essays are also engrossing, human and hilarious.

Sticks two fingers up at a discriminatory publishing industry.

The essays, in turns witty, uncomfortable and inspiring, would make for great reading at any time, but were especially welcome this year.

Existentially challenging to the status quo. It could not be more timely.

What a phenomenal book: timely, poignant and insightful. It deserves to be read as widely as possible.

Warm, funny and often moving. A delight.

Quite simply a wonderful antidote to the tired cliches.

A bold, beautiful and urgent book that should be read widely in these politically and racially charged times. It opened my eyes so much, and, in my opinion, is the most exciting publication of 2016.

I am stupidly grateful for this book. It opened my eyes to my own experience and gave me words for feelings I had known but never acknowledged. I carry it with me whenever I travel, to remind me that the world is good. Buy this book, carry it with you everywhere, give it to everyone you know. We need it now more than ever.

Here are a bunch of brave writers actually doing something about representation … an important book.

Incisive, funny, searingly honest … it contains work that should be read by all.

Brilliant, unclichéd, unique. A book of our time, which everyone must read.

I want everyone to read this book. I found myself nodding along, feeling the pain, hilarity and anger.

The Good Immigrant's strength not only comes in its numbers, but through the uniqueness of each essay inside, ranging from Coco Khan’s look at sexuality and fetishisation, through to Riz MC’s retelling of his typical treatment in airport security.

A stunning collection of original voices, challenging how we see race and difference.

I knew I'd be interested in this book. I didn't realise I'd be so moved. At a time when British identity is being claimed as the exclusive preserve of people who wish immigration had stopped with Hengist and Horsa, it does the heart good to be reminded of how many of us there are, and how deeply woven we are into the fabric of our country. It's a book that will make a lot of young Britons feel more powerful and less alone. Each essay is like another new friend standing up and saying to the reader, 'I see you.'