Books

EPUB, FB2 or TXT: Which Format Should You Choose for Book Narration?

If you have several versions of a book, check EPUB or FB2 first: both formats can store chapter structure. TXT works for straightforward text, while PDF needs a closer check of reading order. Choose the copy with complete paragraphs and clear headings. A file extension alone cannot fix errors in the source.

A TGRadio guide

EPUB and FB2: Check How the Chapters Are Organised

EPUB and FB2 can store sections, headings and the sequence of the text. This provides a useful foundation for a book with several parts because chapter boundaries can be defined within the document. Whether that structure is present depends on how the particular file was prepared. The extension does not guarantee correct chapter divisions after import.

Open the book in an ebook reader and visit chapters near the beginning, middle and end. Check that headings match their contents and the text follows the right sequence. If both formats are available, compare the same passage. Prefer the copy without missing paragraphs, accidental repetitions or unrelated material.

TXT: Suitable for Simple Text, with Less Structure

TXT stores plain text without section markup. Chapter names may appear on separate lines, but that does not make them structural headings. This format can suit a short story or another text where reading straight through is sufficient.

Before uploading, check letters, spacing and paragraph breaks. Unreadable characters may indicate an encoding problem. Line breaks copied from every line of a printed page, split words and sentences joined without spaces are also worth correcting in an editable copy. Renaming a TXT file to EPUB will not create chapter structure.

PDF: Selectable Text Still Needs a Reading-Order Check

PDF preserves the arrangement of material on a page. For narration, the order of the extracted text matters: columns, footnotes and running headers can produce a sequence different from what you see. Page numbers or a repeated book title may appear between sentences.

TGRadio accepts PDFs with a text layer. Scanned PDFs without text and password-protected PDFs are unsuitable; OCR, which recognises text in images, is not available yet. Try selecting a few paragraphs and copying them into a text editor. Check sentence order and look for broken words. This is a preliminary check, not a guarantee of the import result.

Check the File Before Uploading

Spend a few minutes comparing source files when you have a choice. For example, suppose a PDF copy inserts a page number after every paragraph, while the same passage in FB2 reads continuously. The FB2 copy would be the more practical choice for narration, even if the PDF looks neater.

  1. Choose a book you have the right to use and check its file size. TGRadio accepts files up to 10 MB.
  2. Open the beginning, middle and end. Make sure the main text is present and the chapters appear in the intended order.
  3. Find a dialogue, a long paragraph and a passage with a footnote, if available. Look for split words, repetitions and interruptions within sentences.
  4. If you find errors, choose a cleaner source or correct an editable copy before importing it.

After Importing, Listen to the First Ready Segment

Upload your chosen file in the book narration section after signing in. Uploads are private and are not published automatically. You can start listening as soon as the first audio segment is ready and check for broken words or unwanted text.

Book narration is free, with no monthly character limit. The result depends on the source text: changing the voice will not fix errors in the document.