Book2Ear: Transform PDFs into AI Summaries and Audiobooks

We all have PDFs we need to read—research papers, eBooks, documentation. But let’s face it: reading is time-consuming, and written text is rarely designed for our ears. Book language is often dense, formal, and complex—hard work to listen to compared to natural, spoken conversation.

What if you could bridge that gap? What if you could take a stiff, technical PDF and instantly transform it into a friendly, easy-to-understand audiobook?

That is the core idea behind Book2Ear. This Python tool doesn’t just read text; it rewrites it for you.

How it works:

Input: You provide a PDF book. AI Processing: The code reads the document page-by-page. Using AI (via Anthropic Claude, MiniMax, or local LLMs), it modifies the content to make it listener-friendly. You can choose between Summarization Mode (for quick bullet points) or Audiobook Mode (for full narration). Text Generation: The AI generates a clean text file—a simplified, conversational version of the original content. Audio Conversion: Finally, the tool uses Fish Speech TTS to convert that text file into high-quality audio. The result? You don’t just get a robotic reading of a PDF; you get a polished, easy-to-digest audiobook tailored for human ears.

What You’ll Learn

• How Book2Ear transforms PDFs
• Summary vs audiobook modes
• How to generate audio
• Configuration options

What is Book2Ear?

Book2Ear (AI Book Processor) is a Python tool that processes PDF documents using AI. It can:

1. Summarize - Extract 5-8 key bullet points per page
2. Audiobook Mode - Transform text into listenable narration scripts
3. Generate Audio - Create audio files using Fish Speech TTS

The Vision

Turn any PDF into digestible content—whether you want quick summaries or a full audiobook experience.

Key Features

Installation

Step 1: Clone and Setup

git clone <repository-url>
cd book2ear

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

Step 2: Install Dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

Step 3: Configure API Keys

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your API keys

Add to .env:

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_claude_api_key
MINIMAX_API_KEY=your_minimax_api_key
FISH_TTS_URL=http://127.0.0.1:8080/v1/tts

Usage

List PDFs

python main.py -l

Summarize a PDF

python main.py book.pdf

Audiobook Mode

python main.py book.pdf --mode audiobook

Custom Provider

python main.py book.pdf -p anthropic -m claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022

MiniMax API

python main.py book.pdf -p minimax --mode audiobook --voice-style dramatic

Generating Audio

Setup Fish Speech TTS

# Clone Fish Speech
git clone https://github.com/fishaudio/fish-speech
cd fish-speech

# Download models
python -m tools.download_models

# Start API server
python -m tools.api_server --llama-checkpoint-path checkpoints/openaudio-s1-mini --decoder-checkpoint-path checkpoints/openaudio-s1-mini/codec.pth --device cuda

Generate Audio

# Summary with audio
python main.py book.pdf --mode summary --tts

# Audiobook with audio
python main.py book.pdf --mode audiobook --tts

# With voice style
python main.py book.pdf --mode audiobook --tts --tts-voice-style dramatic

# Voice cloning
python main.py book.pdf --mode audiobook --tts --reference-audio voice_sample.wav

Command Options

Main Options

TTS Options

Why This is Useful

For Students

Summarize research papers quickly. Get the main points without reading every page.

For Professionals

Process reports, documentation, whitepapers. Extract key insights fast.

For Content Creators

Transform documents into audio. Create content for podcasts or accessibility.

For Accessibility

Turn any PDF into an audiobook. Help those who prefer listening to reading.

Use Cases

1. Research Papers

Summarize academic papers in minutes. Extract key findings without reading full papers.

2. Business Reports

Get bullet-point summaries of lengthy reports. Quick decision-making.

3. Books

Transform chapters into audio. Listen while commuting or exercising.

4. Documentation

Convert technical docs into summaries. Faster onboarding.

Conclusion

Book2Ear transforms how you consume PDF content. Whether you need quick summaries or full audiobooks, AI handles the heavy lifting.

Turn your reading pile into listening content. Save time. Learn faster.

Source Code

View and contribute: Book2Ear on GitLab

Start transforming PDFs today!