Turn Any Ebook into an Audiobook with This Open Source Tool

Remember when creating an audiobook meant hiring voice actors, booking studio time, and spending thousands of dollars? What if you could transform any ebook into a high-quality audiobook with just a few commands? That's exactly what ebook2audiobook delivers.

This Python tool does exactly what its name suggests—it converts ebook files into narrated audiobooks using text-to-speech technology. But it goes way beyond basic TTS with some impressive features that make it worth checking out.

What It Does

ebook2audiobook is a command-line tool that takes your EPUB files and converts them into spoken audio. It processes the book chapter by chapter, cleans up the text, and generates natural-sounding speech using either Google's Text-to-Speech API or OpenAI's TTS service. The result is a properly organized audiobook with chapters preserved as separate audio files.

Why It's Cool

The magic here isn't just in the basic conversion—it's in the thoughtful implementation. The tool handles real-world ebook quirks like removing unwanted line breaks that break speech flow, skipping irrelevant content (like tables of contents in the middle of chapters), and maintaining proper chapter structure.

But the really impressive part? It supports voice cloning and works with over 1,100 languages. While the voice cloning feature requires additional setup with tools like Real-Time Voice Cloning, the fact that it's architected to support this opens up incredible possibilities. Imagine creating audiobooks in your own voice, or generating content for niche languages that commercial services ignore.

The project is built with Python and keeps things modular, making it easy to extend or customize. Whether you want to tweak the text processing or integrate different TTS services, the codebase is approachable enough to hack on.

How to Try It

Getting started is straightforward if you're comfortable with Python:

git clone https://github.com/DrewThomasson/ebook2audiobook
cd ebook2audiobook
pip install -r requirements.txt

Then run it against your EPUB file:

python ebook2audiobook.py path/to/your/book.epub

You'll need to set up API keys for whichever TTS service you choose, and the repository documentation covers the configuration options. The tool outputs MP3 files organized by chapter, ready to load onto your favorite audio player.

Final Thoughts

As someone who's tried various text-to-speech solutions, what stands out about ebook2audiobook is its specific focus on the ebook use case. It's not just another TTS wrapper—it understands the structure of books and respects the reading experience. The voice cloning potential is particularly exciting for developers looking to create personalized audio content.

This feels like one of those tools that could quietly become essential for authors, educators, or anyone working with digital content. The code is clean, the approach is practical, and it solves a real problem without over-engineering. Worth keeping an eye on as the TTS space continues to evolve.

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