Automating Immersive Reading(smoores.dev)
61 pointsby smoores7 hours ago6 comments
  • smoores7 hours ago
    I took a week of from work recently to reimplement Storyteller's forced alignment algorithm. Storyteller[1] is an open source, self hosted platform for creating, managing, and reading/listening to "readaloud" books — books that have audiobook narration built in and can highlight each sentence (and/or word, with this new algorithm!) as it's read aloud. Forced alignment is the process of determining where each piece of text starts and ends in the audiobook.

    Anyway, I am really pleased with how the new algorithm turned out! Hopefully someone else finds it interesting as well.

    [1] https://storyteller-platform.dev

    • zackify4 hours ago
      This is great. Recently got an xteink x3 and jailbroke my kindle, making custom stuff for it.

      I couldn't find it exactly in the docs. Sorry if I missed it.

      If you align these and then pull onto koreader via opds or other way, will audio work over Bluetooth there too? Along with the highlighting.

      • smoores4 hours ago
        You can use a KOReader plugin, https://github.com/stradichenko/audiobook.koplugin, which has work-in-progress support for Media Overlays (the EPUB spec that Storyteller uses for readaloud)!
        • zackify3 hours ago
          Wow I didn't even think about just using on device AI.

          I'm going to set this one up and try it with kokoro which has the most natural for small size that I've seen. Wonder if the paperwhite 12th Gen can handle it.

          And also setup the main repo for when I have the real audio book. Thanks!

    • orsenthil5 hours ago
      This is excellent! I wanted this. I had noticed that Kindle had limited feature like this for certain books that support audiobooks. I had tried this style of reading with audiobook and ebook without a any automated sync, but hadn't pursued it. This looks cool. :)
      • smoores5 hours ago
        Thanks! We're improving it all the time — we're working on big new releases ("v3") for the web app and mobile apps. There's a Discord server linked in the docs if you ever need any help out want to chat!
  • cainxinth4 hours ago
    This is how I proofread. I play a screen reader while I read my work. The brain does some autocorrecting that you don’t even notice and occasionally skips over a typo when you read it without the audio.
  • mobeets5 hours ago
    This is really impressive! One thing I’ve often wanted is a way to listen to an ebook (say, while cooking), and then later be able to sit down and read from where I left off. This essentially requires the same functionality that Storyteller offers (syncing progress through an ebook and audiobook), though arguably overkill for this use case (since I could handle a more coarse alignment). In any case, is this something Storyteller would be good for? Or are there other tools for the job?
    • tcoff915 hours ago
      Storyteller works great for this. It even syncs your position across devices. So when I really want to settle in to read, I go ahead and switch from my iPhone where I was listening to my Boox e-ink reader which syncs right to where I left off.
    • smoores5 hours ago
      That is actually the exact use case that I originally built Storyteller for! I wanted to listen to my books on long runs, and then switch to reading when I got back.

      The Storyteller mobile apps have great support for this, I think. They have fully fledged audiobook players and ebook readers, and you can switch between the two with one tap. And then of course you can also double tap on a sentence and start playing from there, with the app highlighting the currently read sentence.

  • thelisu3 hours ago
    This highlights the core reason why I don't like audiobooks, podcasts, or even movies, compared to reading: it's too slow. Looking at the example, I read two or three times as fast as the audio goes.

    What I would need is the opposite: some eye-tracking software that plays the audio at the point I am reading. I don't know if it would be any useful though, as it would be very sped-up, but maybe it would increase "immersion" nevertheless.

    • smoores3 hours ago
      Almost everyone who uses the readaloud features in Storyteller speeds up the audio playback quite a bit, often 2-3x, so that it matches their reading speed better. The Storyteller apps let you set different playback speeds for pure audio playback vs readaloud, since being able to see the text usually makes it easier to listen faster!

      I supposed I should add: it's also, obviously, fine if this just isn't for you! Lots of people get a lot of value out of audiobooks (e.g., I really like to listen to audiobooks in the car or while running), but like to switch to reading when it's an option. And lots of people find readaloud super valuable, whether because they have a print disability or neurodivergence that makes reading challenging, or just because they like the experience of being read to. But lots of people are in neither of those groups!

    • altmanaltman2 hours ago
      I read very fast and I noticed that after a certain point, it helps to not have the inner voice. Instead its more like I see a bunch of text and I understand it instead of going word by word. I don't think its possible to do this with audio.
  • usern202607204 hours ago
    I generated an immersive reading for Athenaze in a few afternoons with Claude
  • SmallUsefulan hour ago
    [flagged]