Portraits of readers as well as the act of reading itself are the subjects of the photographs collected in this book. The depiction of the reader did not represent photographic innovation. As Yiannis Papatheodorou notes in his preface, "painting had, of course, prepared the ground for the depiction of reading. It is no coincidence that for the history of literature, the history of the book and reading, engravings, sketches, paintings, and photographs on the theme of reading today constitute significant evidence for understanding changes in mentalities and reading behaviors."

Thus, photographs that start from the second half of the 19th century and reach up to the early 1970s vividly capture the spread of reading in a time when a dynamic "new reading culture, which has one main characteristic: the book steps outside the walls of the scholars' library," is being formed. Readers of both genders, of all ages and social groups, many of whom are well-known, offer a form of personal testimony when they choose, or simply accept, to be photographed at the moment they are reading.

In these photographs, "the repetition of the theme either captures a particular social practice or confirms a commitment around a stable cultural object (books). In any case, the photographs relate to the very biographical elements of the individuals or social groups depicted." These photographs document the transition from the individual, silent, and solitary reading of the 19th century, usually limited to a circle of scholars or educated individuals and their families, to the new reading practices of the 20th century, which are adopted by the whole society.

They also highlight the widening of the reading audience brought about by mass literacy and the introduction of compulsory education: students, soldiers, the anonymous crowd of the city, all gain their rightful place in the community of readers. Simultaneously, the technological progress of the photographic medium is captured, which very soon allows for the photographing of the reader not only at their desk or home but also in any outdoor space, such as in the garden, on the street, or in the café.

In this book, among others, readers posing include Yiannis Psycharis, Maria Polyzoidis, Nanos Valaoritis as a child, Thrassos Kastanakis, Stratis Tsirkas, Dimitris Glinos, Georgios Drosinis, Kostis Palamas, Giuseppe Ungaretti, Katina Paxinou, Yiannis Meratis, Pantelis Prevelakis, and George Seferis.