This app searches Aozora Bunko works and reads them aloud with your browser's voice. You can enjoy books by ear, without using your eyes — for example while doing housework or walking.
History of Aozora Bunko
Aozora Bunko is an online digital library born in 1997. Volunteers digitise works whose copyright term has expired and publish them for free.
How to use it
Use “Search” to enter a work's title. “Popular” lists frequently read works, and “Recommended” shows random works.
Choose a work and its text will be downloaded. The result lists are hidden after you choose a work.
Press play and reading starts paragraph by paragraph. Speed can be changed from 0.5× to 2.0×.
Pause and stop are available, and the paragraph being read is highlighted.
About the voice
The reading voice is your device's text-to-speech feature, not Hanako's voice. If no Japanese voice is available, add one in your device settings.
About screen sleep prevention
Reading uses screen sleep prevention while playing, because audio would stop if the device slept. If you lock the device yourself, reading stops.
About copyright notices
Work lists and details show a copyright notice:
“Copyright term expired”: the protection term has ended.
“Copyright still in effect (use with care)”: the work is still protected. Please use it with care.
Recommended use
Start with short, famous works such as Run, Melos! or I Am a Cat.
For long works, slightly increasing the speed can make listening easier.