TGRadioBooks
Nonfiction text to speech: prepare a book for listening
Before turning a nonfiction book into speech, check passages whose meaning depends on the page layout. Tables need labelled values, lists may depend on sequence, and sidebars sometimes need an introduction. Make any changes in an external editor. TGRadio extracts text, but does not rewrite a book for spoken delivery.
Find passages that depend on the page
Look through a chapter in the original and mark tables, diagrams, captions, sidebars and directions such as “see the box on the right.” Read the surrounding paragraphs in sequence while skipping those elements. If a reason, comparison or conclusion becomes unclear, the passage needs attention. One substantial chapter is a useful starting point because it reveals the obstacles you may encounter elsewhere.
Keep the original separately. Give your working copy a name that distinguishes the listening adaptation from the published text. Use material you have the right to use.
Turn essential tables into complete statements
Outside TGRadio, rewrite the rows you need as sentences, naming the measure and unit each time. For example: “The first option takes two hours and requires one participant. The second takes one hour and requires two participants.” Values read without column headings can lose their meaning.
Avoid reducing a table to a single conclusion when the conditions of the comparison matter. A large table that you need to consult cell by cell may be more useful in the original. In your listening copy, add a clear reminder to open that table when necessary.
Keep lists and sidebars connected to the argument
Check whether every list item depends on an introductory phrase. If the items become fragments without it, repeat the necessary wording in your working copy. Preserve numbers or spoken transitions in a sequence of instructions. Independent observations can usually stand as complete sentences.
Place a sidebar after a complete paragraph that it relates to, and introduce its purpose in words. For example: “An example of the preceding rule.” Then check whether the return to the main argument is clear. The sidebar’s position in the margin cannot provide that cue during listening.
Handle notes and references before importing
Separate notes by purpose: explaining a term, identifying a source or suggesting further reading. You can move an essential explanation beside the relevant term in an external editor. Keep bibliographic details in a separate section of the prepared copy if hearing them midway through a sentence interrupts the argument.
Do not assume that importing a page by link gathers every related page. It does not imply following multiple chapters or pagination. If an argument continues elsewhere, check beforehand that the required text is actually included in your prepared file.
Listen specifically for transitions
Add the prepared file through Books and Upload a book, choose the book and a voice, then press Play. Importing extracts the text; audio preparation starts when you begin playback. Further passages are prepared as you listen.
Test the rewritten table, the transition into a sidebar and the return from a note. If a number or pronoun has no clear reference, revise the working copy outside the app and upload the corrected file. TGRadio has no built-in text or pronunciation editor.