Listen to Ebooks on Mac w/o installing any Software

When it comes to consuming digital books, listening can be more convenient than reading, especially when you're multitasking. macOS offers built-in tools to convert text to speech, making it easy to listen to your ebooks. Here's a comprehensive guide on how to set up and use these features.

Setting Up Text-to-Speech on Your Mac

The default voice that comes with macOS is notoriously robotic and unpleasant to listen to for extended periods. This is precisely why changing the system voice should be your first step before attempting to listen to any ebooks.

Choosing Your System Voice

You can customize the voice that reads your content:

1. Open System Settings (or System Preferences in older macOS versions)
2. Navigate to the "Spoken Content" settings
3. Under "System voice," you can select from various options - the screenshot shows "Siri (Voice 1)" is currently selected
4. You can adjust additional settings like speech rate using the dropdown menu

Your Mac comes with several voice options of different genders and accents. Some premium voices offer more natural-sounding speech.

Listening to Books in Apple Books

Using the Speech Menu

Apple Books has built-in text-to-speech functionality:

1. Open your ebook in the Apple Books app
2. Click on "Edit" in the menu bar
3. Navigate to "Speech"
4. Select "Start Speaking" (highlighted with an arrow in Image 2)
5. To stop the narration, return to the same menu and select "Stop Speaking"

The system will begin reading from your current position in the book.

Wrap-Up

By utilizing these built-in macOS features, you can easily convert any ebook in your Apple Books library into an audiobook-like experience without purchasing separate audiobook versions.