This article investigates the profi le of Brazilian readers, based on the analysis of data revealed by the research “Portrayals of Reading in Brazil” (2008) promoted by CBL; SNEL and Abrelivros, the main focus of which is to determine and measure the reader’s behavior, particularly in relation to books, and to investigate how people perceive reading, establishing at key moments a comparison with the 2000/2001 issue. The Western history of reading shows that reading in ancient times was accessible only to the few. In our country, this fact is repeated, since Brazilian books were published in Portugal, and have only been published in Brazil for the past two centuries. This distancing of the reader from the book has been perpetuated from ancient times, until today. Despite the efforts implemented by the public policies to promote reading, we are still far from reaching the desirable percentage of readers, compared with the developed countries. We observed data such as the age range of readers, what they read more, their reasons for reading, their favorite literary genre, access to libraries, and the profi le of Brazilian reader in terms of socioeconomic situation and level of education. It is also seen that our country has varying numbers of readers, according to region. The research also reveals that the Brazilian associates reading with a source of knowledge, and does not see it as an aesthetic object. It also indicates the percentage of readers of e-books.