Here is the link I promised in my earlier comment:

https://medium.com/the-sophist/montaigne-the-art-of-life-a50285c69128

As someone who has read 400 pages of Montaigne (a "selected essays"), this piece above by Steven Gambardella (115K followers) gives you the best bang for the buck in 12 minutes' reading toward understanding Montaigne's deep yet universal appeal. (As commenter here Joel F Johnson notes, even Shakespeare got something special out of reading him.)

Also, I totally agree with Lisa Schamess that if you're willing to tackle a book, How to Live by Sarah Bakewell is an excellent way to meet one of the most likable and endearing people of great stature in history.