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Convert Any Text to an iTunes-Compatible Audiobook
Posted by Adam Pash at 8:00 AM on May 10, 2008
Web site Mac OS X Hints details how to create an iTunes audiobook (i.e., an M4B audio file) from any text in just a couple of clicks. The process involves installing a new service to your Services menu, then selecting your to-be-audiobooked text and choosing AppName -> Services -> Speak to iTunes Audiobook. When the conversion is complete, the resulting audio file is automatically imported to iTunes in the Audiobooks section. The service uses the new Alex voice in Leopard, and the results are actually very listenable.
Tags: audiobooks | how to | itunes | mac os x | services
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
nobodyzhome
Posted 8:40 AM 10/5/08
Is there anything somewhat close to this for Linux?
nobodyzhome
invid
Posted 10:04 AM 10/5/08
I too would be interested in a nix equivalent of this.
invid
electrokinetica
Posted 6:27 PM 10/5/08
Think I found something close:
[ubuntuforums.org]
electrokinetica
Jim (The Canuck One)
Posted 10:48 PM 10/5/08
Other than the "ooo, shiny" geek-factor, I don't really see a lot of value in this app.
Compare Sir Ian McKellan delivering the line "Fly, you fools!" to a neutral "Fly...you...fools!" (Yes, yes, maybe the app knows to emphasize when the "!" is going by.)
I actually hope it does interpret punctuation, otherwise this:
"Have you seen her, Fanny?"
"Yes, and there's no hope."
becomes unintentionally funny (at least in the UK)
Jim (The Canuck One)
greg-c
Posted 4:16 AM 11/5/08
For a more platform agnostic version, you might check out the web based readthewords.com
Output is an MP3 file that you can download or listen on the web site.
They look to accept a variety of file formats - plain text, MS Word, PDF, HTML, as well as URLs for web pages and RSS feeds. It looks like it will take up to 80,000 characters for the text to voice translation. I have only played around with much smaller files. Conversion is fast. I'm not a Mac user so I can't comment on the quality fo the voice compared to "Alex" in Leopard.
greg-c
maier_m
Posted 10:52 AM 12/5/08
@Jim (The Canuck One):
Hey Jim, there's a lot more to this than "ooh shiny". I originally started using a similar applescript about a year ago to convert NY Times editorials into speech and then podcast them to my blind mother (my dad plays back the podcasts for her.) However, I found that I appreciated listening to these podcasts while driving to work. Granted, Alex ain't no Ian McKellan, but Ian isn't available at 4:30 a.m. on mondays and fridays to read me Krugman's latest...
maier_m
Catertot
Posted 7:20 AM 13/5/08
Another great use for this that I discovered this afternoon was reading back a paper you've written. As a college student, you're always encouraged to read your papers aloud to yourself to catch grammatical errors and the like. By converting my final paper to an audio book, I was able to follow along as Alex read to me, making a few changes. Convenient when you're in a library and you don't want everyone looking at you funny.
Catertot
nicklogan
Posted 10:34 PM 13/5/08
Is there any option for us on windows?
nicklogan