Audiobook Reader

A cross-platform desktop application for reading text using local text-to-speech (TTS) models. The application handles audio chunking, voice model cataloging, and continuous playback without requiring an internet connection for synthesis.

Features

• EPUB file handling: Able to import and parse EPUB files automatically.
• Local text-to-speech: Uses Piper TTS and ONNX models for offline voice synthesis.
• Graphical interface: Built with PySide6, displays book in a page format with customizable font size and navigation controls.
• Voice management: Browse, download, and manage voice models from Hugging Face directly within the application.
• Playback controls: Able to adjust speaking rate and volume.
• Cross-platform: Available as standalone executables for Windows and Linux.
• Audio handling: Implements buffering and text chunking to maintain continuous playback.
• Progress Saving: Automatically saves book location and used settings.

Planned Features

• Direct file parsing for PDF, TXT, and DOCX formats.
• Additional voices through Kokoro TTS Models.
• Highlighting text as it is spoken.
• Custom font and color Scheme styling.
• Folder Management for your books.
• Multiple Setting presets.

Tools and Technologies

• Python
• PySide6 (Qt)
• Piper TTS
• Hugging Face Models
• ebooklib
• PyInstaller and GitHub Actions (for automated releases)

Installation and Usage

Using Pre-compiled Binaries

Standalone executables are automatically generated. You can run the application without installing Python or additional dependencies.

1. Navigate to the Releases page of this repository.
2. Download the latest .zip archive for your operating system (Windows or Linux).
3. Extract the archive and execute the AudiobookReader binary.

Running from Source

To run the application from source or set up a development environment:

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone [https://github.com/yourusername/AudiobookReader.git](https://github.com/yourusername/AudiobookReader.git)
   cd AudiobookReader

2. Create and activate a virtual environment:

Linux/macOS:

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

Windows:

python -m venv venv
venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Start the application:

python application.py