Immersion reading for the classics
Hear the book and see the text at once, with nothing extra to buy.
Immersion reading means listening to a book while following the text as it's highlighted. Compendium works this way on every book: the full text is on screen and the current sentence is highlighted as it plays.
How it compares with Kindle and Audible
Amazon's version is called Read & Listen, formerly Whispersync for Voice. It highlights the text in real time, but you need both the Kindle book and the audiobook, in matching eligible editions, on the same Amazon account.
On Compendium the text comes with the book. There's no second purchase or edition to match, and it works on iPhone, Android and the web.
Who tends to like it
- People whose attention drifts with audio alone.
- Readers taking on long books with many characters and hard names.
- Anyone working through older language, like Shakespeare or Milton.
Sources
Good books to start with
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The Odyssey: Rendered into English Prose for the Use of Those Who Cannot Read Th
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The Iliad
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Sense and Sensibility
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Wuthering Heights
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The Count of Monte Cristo
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Pride and Prejudice
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Don Quixote
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Free pick
Dracula
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Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus
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Hamlet
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The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana: Translated From the Sanscrit in Seven Parts With P
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Moby Dick; Or, The Whale
Good to know
Is immersion reading the same as Whispersync?
They're related. Whispersync for Voice, now called Read & Listen, is Amazon's feature for moving between a Kindle book and an audiobook. Immersion reading is the part where you read and listen at once.
Does Compendium highlight words or sentences?
Sentences. The current sentence is highlighted as it plays.
Can I listen for free?
The first chapter of every book plays free with no account. A free account adds the opening chapters of every book, plus one whole book of your choice from a shelf of five classics.
