I always prefer Audiobooks over physical ones, since they are faster, put less strain on the eyes; and most importantly, unlike reading, you can listen to audiobooks anywhere you want, like while driving, cooking or before going to bed, etc.
And recently, I canceled my Audible subscription because of two reasons. One, it was expensive (Purchasing power parity) and two, many books there are not available to Indian customers due to some copyright issues.
But still, I do have to listen to Audiobooks, so here is a new workaround I found. Now, I convert the PDF and ebooks to Audiobooks using a text-to-speech engine.
Related:Â 6 Best Audiobook Apps for Android
There are also certain advantages of converting an ebook to Audiobook. For instance; ebook version of any book is way cheaper than its audiobook. Also, there is a PDF version of almost every book on the planet, but that’s not the case with their audiobook.
So, I was looking for a good text-to-speech app and after trying a handful of them, I finally went with Voice aloud reader. Some of its unique features are –
- Support almost every text format, like — Open Text, PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, HTML, EPUB ebooks.
- More natural voice compared to other TTS apps I tried.
- Free (ad-supported) or pay $3 to remove ads.
- Listen to the spoken articles or record it as Wav file.
- Sleep Timer for those who like to read books before going to bed.
Convert Ebooks into Audiobooks
Follow the steps:
#1 Head over to Google Play and install Voice Aloud Reader.
#2 Once done, open the app. Next tap on the + sign at the bottom. Now browse for the file you want to listen and then tap on Open file option.
Alternatively, you can also load a text file from the file browser, just tap on it and then choose, share via voice aloud reader option.
#3 It will take fa ew seconds to process the text and then start speaking it.
Pro Tip: To skip the introduction or table of content part, scroll down from where you want the app to start speaking and then double tap on the text. It’ll start speaking from that place.
#5 Now, you can either listen to it from there or record the sound if you want to play it on your iPod, etc. To do this tap on the three vertical dots and select record sound file. Then choose the desired format – WAV (uncompressed) or OGG (compressed) formats supported. There is no support for mp3, though.
Wrapping Up
It’s true that Text-to-Speech engine can never match the voice quality of a professional voice artist. But after a little usage, you ears will get used to the robotic voice. And if the books are interesting, you’ll forget about the sound in no time.
Also Read: How to convert any Text to Speech (Windows | Mac | Android | iOS)
