Investigated is the size, structure and consumption of literature and popular "pulp" of the Dutch population in the beginning of the 19th century. The public reading' behaviour is the main theme of the dataset. It is separated in data on the readers and on the transactions of literature from the client books of the bookshop Van Benthem in Middelburg. The whole dataset is divided in two periods: 1807-1809 and 1847-1849. For both periods data are collected about the clients, the transactions and the titles that are bought. Besides these main files, also data on occupations, addresses, relationships of clients and data from several membership lists are collected. The files in this dataset are available by a special program which is made for the research project of the Research Institute of History and Culture (OGC:Onderzoeksinstituut voor Geschiedenis en Cultuur') in Utrecht. Two files are not documented here because they are used for arithmetical purposes.