Calibre ebook manager, converter, and reader is out with a new update, and it adds an enticing sounding new feature.
For a while now Calibre has offered a ‘read aloud’ feature that does exactly what you think it does: a computer voice reads the text of an ePUB book.
Calibre 7.21 intros a “new tool to create an audio overlay in EPUB files for all text using the Read aloud facility”. This, it says, enables readers to listen with sentence tracking, and assign different voices to different parts of the book’s text.
Interestingly, Calibre say using the new tool can work regardless of whether the system’s underlying speech-to-text software is working in reading mode. On Linux Calibre otherwise requires Speech Dispatcher for read-aloud functionality.
It also says editing a book to add text-to-speech audio may be slow “at the rate of approximately one sentence per couple of seconds” so recommend users leave large jobs to run overnight.
Those wanting to try the new audio overlay feature can find it in the Tools menu when using the Book Editor in Calibre 7.21 and above.
Other read aloud related changes include: ‘restore defaults’ button in the read aloud configuration dialog; a bug that caused reading to stop after 32,000 characters per chapter; and a clutch of specific Linux tweaks to ensure read-aloud audio plays on more setups.
Beyond that, Calibre 7.21 also intros a notable change ‘flow mode’ in the eBook viewer, which allows ebook text be read continuously, like text on a webpage.
Now, when scrolling internal file boundaries using a mouse wheel a half-second pause eases the transition. Those preferring an instantaneous switch can adjust the behaviour from the Viewer Preferences > Scrolling section.
Other changes in Calibre 7.21:
- Scrollbars in dark mode now have higher contrast and rounded corners
- Option to download book cover in the context menu when right-clicking a cover
- Auto-adding can now exclude more file types, not just eBook formats
- Ability to open ebook folder when right-clicking format in Edit Metadata window
- Edit metadata dialog keyboard shortcuts behave more predictably
- Book editor no longer crashes on Linux when adding to table of contents
- Notes browser search fix ensures searches apply over all selected categories
As updates go that makes for a decent back cover blurb, sure to appeal to long-time fans of this venerable open source ebook tool.
Get Calibre 7.21 on Ubuntu
Calibre 7.21 is free, open source software available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Ubuntu users can install an older version of Calibre from the repos (using Ubuntu Software/App Center or apt) but to benefit from the features mentioned above you may prefer to install the latest version of Calibre of Ubuntu.
How?
Well, Calibre’s primary distribution method on Linux is as a binary file. This is downloaded and installed through a script and moved to the relevant root location using a single command:
sudo -v && wget -nv -O- https://download.calibre-ebook.com/linux-installer.sh | sudo sh /dev/stdin
On my Ubuntu 24.10 install that command error’d out as I didn’t have libxcb-cursor0 installed, so if you get the same error, install that package then re-try.
If a CLI approach is off-putting you can download the binary from the Calibre Github releases page, extract it, enter the folder, and double-click on the binary to run. The downside is you don’t get system integration unless you create your own app shortcut/launcher.
Alternatively, you can find Calibre on Flathub but it is not an official package and not, at the time I write this, updated to the latest release.
Errata: This is version 7.21 not 7.2.1 as I originally said – thanks for the catch, Alain