Christopher de Hamel's exploration of medieval manuscripts - a dozen peaks from St Augustine to Chaucer and beyond, gorgeously and copiously illustrated - is itself an extraordinary book, a work of scholarship and history salted with the author's excitement as he conducts us among the great libraries of Western civilization. It is full of delights

A book of marvels

Great manuscripts are the reclusive stars of European cultural history; to be close to one is to enter a secret garden to which few have ever been granted access. With scholarly elegance, Christopher de Hamel opens the door and invites us to join him for the intellectual expedition of a lifetime. As he introduces us to twelve star manuscripts in their sanctuary homes, these complex creations emerge as major players in the great game of ideas and power. They are agents as well as creatures, with histories that embrace and explain our own. This is an endlessly fascinating and enjoyable book.

Spectacular ... If I could walk you to your nearest bookshop, take £30 from your wallet, and place this wonderful book in your hands, I would

Truth, as this entrancing book proves, is wonderfully stranger than fiction. Christopher de Hamel's learned adventures amid some of the West's greatest manuscript treasures effortlessly outclass Eco's The Name of the Rose in elegance and excitement. They are also much funnier.

One of the cultural highlights of the autumn is an edge-of-the-seat tale inspired by Medieval Manuscripts. Christopher de Hamel has turned a lifelong obsession with ancient literature into a book that critics are comparing to A History of the World in 100 Objects and the wonderful The Hare with Amber Eyes.

Reading is my life, but only about once a decade do I find a book that seems to tilt the world, so afterwards it appears different.

De Hamel's book, scholarly but unfailingly readable, is the beginning of wisdom in all things scribal and scriptural

Christopher de Hamel's outstanding and original book pushes the boundaries of what it is and what it means to write history. By framing each manuscript of which he writes as the story of his own personal encounter with it, he leads the reader on many unforgettable journeys of discovery and learning. Deeply imaginative, beautifully written, and unfailingly humane, Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts distils a lifelong love of these astonishing historical treasures, which the author brings so vividly to life. It is a masterpiece.

Loving, practical, and kind, The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down is a beautiful reminder of the rewards of living wisely

Filled with gems of wisdom, this book will lift up your heart and enliven your spirit

The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down proves what the Wise have always taught: As goes our attention, so comes our experience. The more we attend to living in the present moment, the richer becomes our experience of it . . . and of our own higher possibilities

Perfect for readers looking for a respite from busy lives and tumultuous times . . . Sunim evokes a calm assuredness in his philosophy, reminiscent of Lebanese-American poet Kahlil Gibran

Haemin Sunim's book has a place in my backpack now. When I read it at the coffee shop, my coffee break becomes a meditation break. At bedtime, it brings me peace. And in the morning it inspires me

I believe this elegant book will help heal a river of grief that runs through our entire nation, just below the surface, everywhere I go. People ache for time with those they love, with friends and family, with nature. My hope is that everyone who opens this book will immediately find some passage, some way into a secret garden of slow time, where things of great beauty and truth grow, and blossom, in effortless abundance. It is a glorious refuge -- a timely, welcome escape from the pervasive trance of ordinary, relentlessly productive time

Wonderful . . . They read almost like haikus

Full of wisdom and love this is a book to keep as a dear companion. Hold it close. With its simple yet deeply profound messages it will become a wise friend to turn to again and again. Haemin Sunim bridges East and West in his own life story and his writing. Truly this is a gem

Submission is an intelligent, misanthropic satire that addresses questions crucial to multicultural societies.

The publication of Houellebecq's controversial novel...was a political event in itself. The book is brilliant, funny and deliberately offensive...and offers a sharp insight into the troubles of modern France

The year’s most prophetic and provocative novel.

The most talked about, and most topical, novel.

If you only read one book this summer, read this one … Please read this book. It says more about where we stand and what might happen than anything else I have read in the past few years.

A fascinating book, and, as always with Houellebecq, horribly readable.

Brilliant novel.

Uncomfortable and satirical – it shows one of France’s great controversialists at his best.

A timely, caustic, often funny novel… It has the cleverest, most satisfying ending I’ve read all year.

Submission is the latest Houellebecq novel and perhaps his most bitingly funny in parts, but it’s also a reminder of how European nations may succumb to foreign domination and “submit”.

What a visionary!... You must read it this summer, you’ll love it. It’s so incredible they published that a year before everything happened… He has a vision and it’s incredible… Incredible!

The literary chronicler of Western decadence