During the Covid pandemic, I have taken up a side project that harnesses AI with many features for readers to read better and faster.
The project is called Booklyn.co www.booklyn.co
It's currently best used on laptops and desktops, especially for (2560 x 1440) displays, such as a 27-inch display, since you'll be able to view two panels simultaneously for reading. If you have a smaller display, there are buttons to toggle between the two displays ("Book" and "Reader's Panel" buttons) up top.
The left panel is the book, while the right panel is for:
Asking the book a question (currently in beta). Click on the "Ask This Page a Question (Beta)" button to ask a question. For example, "who is the main character?" for any book. This is currently in beta and only works by page. I'm currently working on the AI to ask questions about a chapter, an entire book, and books as a whole in the library.
There are excellent keyboard shortcuts for you to skim through books. Upon visiting the page, you'll see a "Keyboard Shortcuts and Special Mouse Clicks" link in the Reader's Panel (or right panel) and the footer. Click on this link to view all the keyboard shortcuts. For example, press the "X" button for skimming by paragraph or the "Y" button for skimming by a sentence. Just set your eyes on the right panel and press the "X" or "Y" buttons while reading. If you're logged in, it will save your reading position. These keyboard shortcuts enable you to read much faster without ever having to lose your place.
Booklyn.co features a community for readers to share passages by highlighting any text on a book and commenting or asking questions. You can follow fellow readers for more insight into the books you are reading.
There are currently seven languages supported at Booklyn.co: English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, French, and Polish. If you're trying to learn a new language, Booklyn.co has excellent features for just doing that. For example, the default book upon visiting Booklyn.co is Don Quixote de la Mancha in Spanish. Click on the "Start" button or press the "S" button if you have a microphone. Start reading the book aloud and watch the words you are reading become highlighted; this is great for learning pronunciation. You can translate highlighted text by pressing the "W" button or clicking the "Translate" button.
Booklyn.co contains about 400 books in its library. Search for phrases using Booklyn.co's search feature; this is great for research.
Try highlighting some text for any book. You'll see a popup display with a few buttons. You can hear the word pronunciation, translate the text to any of the seven languages supported, share the quote on social media, such as Reddit, do a Google search, and embed the selection on any website. Like this: "1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." https://booklyn.co/1/12/the-king-james-bible/29/1/29/59
These are some features to help you get started. I'm posting this on HackerNews for a discussion and getting feedback. There are currently about 400 books with a goal to an anticipated figure in the millions.
Many new features are in the works, such as improved search, improved AI, improved UI/UX, a markup language specifically designed for books, and ways for publishers to publish their books to all formats with Markdown and many more features. Also, I'm working on a "Kindle-like" display with my Raspberry Pi for reading on the go. A lot of work ahead, and it's been a one-person project. Lots of hard work put into this, so please be kind!:)
If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, etc., please comment for discussion. Booklyn.co is a passion project of mine for education and leisurely reading. It helps me to read books much faster, and I hope it does the same for you.
I hope you enjoy and happen to read a book or two with Booklyn.co.
www.booklyn.co