iPhone ePub reader to read books aloud

[lordofthereef]

looking for an ePub reader that reads books aloud. I realize I can do this in iBooks but I have to make giant selections manually and it's just a hassle.

Ideally this app would read ePub from drop box (or similar cloud storage), have a relatively human like voice (something like Siri is fine, just not terribly robotic), and not require the screen to be on/active while playing.

Only such thing I may have come across is Audibook but it's not available in the US AppStore.

 

[spitf1r3]

The best e-book reading app I know (Hyphen - eBook Reader for ePub) doesn't seem to have this yet - but it might be a good idea to ask the developer behind it to add that feature

 

[gaidinsgirl]

Voice dream is my favorite. It is pricey but absolutely worth it to me. It only opens drm free books though. I bought the app and the Salli voice and listen to all my books there. It pauses/plays the way music does, so headphones can pause the app. It will play in the background with the screen off. It was exactly what I was looking for.

Voice Dream Reader by Voice Dream LLC
https://appsto.re/us/kiXKD.i

 

[nightcap965]

The only way this is acceptable is if you're visually impaired and there is no other option. Audiobooks are an art form. A book well read by a talented voice artist is a delight. Try Christopher Moore's "Blood Sucking Fiends" read by Susan Bennett (the voice behind Siri), or Patrick Tull's masterful rendition of all 20 1/3 books in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, or George Guidall reading Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" or even the authors themselves reading their own works, including some voices we shall never hear again: Douglas Adams reading "Hitchhiker's Guide" or Christopher Hitchens reading "God is not Great" ...

Now highlight a chunk of text and run it through a reader program. It's flat, robotic, without the slightest comprehension. It adds nothing to the text - indeed, it detracts.

Full disclosure: I've been an Audible customer for 12 years.