Notes on listening
to what you read.
Practical guides on turning PDFs and EPUBs into audiobooks, making your Mac read aloud, rescuing scanned documents with OCR, and getting through the reading pile with your ears.
Find Papers: search arXiv and listen to any paper
New in 1.25: search arXiv's two million papers inside the app and click any result to hear it read aloud with synced highlighting - plus a voice picker that remembers your last-used voice everywhere.
Read about the feature → Feature · 2 minDownload your PDF's audio as a file
New in Unknown 1.23 - right-click any book and save its narration as a plain audio file. Play it on your phone, in your car, anywhere; no app required.
Read about the feature → Release note · 2 minUnknown 1.22 fixes the Sign in with Google crash
The app quit the moment you clicked Sign in with Google. What was broken, what 1.22 changes, and how to update - your library and data were never at risk.
Read the release note → Comparison · 9 minThe best PDF to audiobook apps for Mac in 2026
Seven options compared honestly - native Mac apps, offline support, OCR for scans, and real prices, every claim verified from official sources in August 2026.
Read the comparison → Comparison · 8 min7 Speechify alternatives for Mac in 2026
Cheaper, on-device, and free options compared honestly - what each one costs, what works offline, and where Speechify still wins. Verified August 2026.
Read the comparison → Guide · 7 minHow to turn a PDF into an audiobook on Mac (3 ways)
A dedicated reader app, the free built-in Spoken Content tool, and a do-it-yourself Shortcuts pipeline - what each one gives you and where each one struggles.
Read the guide → Guide · 6 minHow to make your Mac read a PDF aloud
Speak Selection, better Siri voices, the say command, and the limits you will hit: no follow-along, column chaos, and silence on scans.
Read the guide → Guide · 5 minHow to turn an EPUB into an audiobook on Mac
Apple Books will not narrate the EPUBs you load into it. Here is how to give any novel you own a narrator, and why converting to PDF first is the wrong move.
Read the guide → Guide · 5 minHow to get a scanned PDF read aloud on Mac
A scan is a photograph, so text-to-speech has nothing to say. Two fixes: automatic OCR in a reader, or the manual Live Text route.
Read the guide → Workflow · 6 minHow to listen to research papers like podcasts
Two-column layouts, citations and reference sections make papers the hardest thing to narrate. A workflow that keeps comprehension high anyway.
Read the guide → Essay · 6 minIs listening to an audiobook the same as reading?
What comprehension research actually shows, where each mode wins, and the read-while-listening option that quietly beats both.
Read the essay →