Read real English books and understand every line
Open a book with the translation alongside. Tap any word for a dictionary that knows the sentence, unpack the grammar behind a tricky line — or press play and the Reader reads aloud, lighting up each word as it goes. Bring your own EPUB or FB2, and read offline.
Free to try · No signup wall · Runs in your browser
What's inside
Five features working on every page.
Grammar, explained in the line you're reading
When a sentence hides a construction worth knowing, a quiet Grammar row appears. Open it for a short, plain-language rule tied to that exact line — form, gist, an example from your book, and the one mistake to avoid. No separate grammar course to grind through.
- The construction is highlighted right in the text.
- Form, plain gist, an example from your book, a pitfall.
- Tied to CEFR level — never a separate curriculum.
ENGLISH
By the time the boy returned, the old man had already fallen asleep in his chair.
Past Perfect
Tenses · talking about an earlier past
had + past participleUse the Past Perfect for an action that was already finished before another moment in the past.
From this sentence
The construction glows in the text; the “Grammar” row opens the rule behind it.
The book reads itself aloud — karaoke-style
Press Listen and the chapter comes with a voice: each word lights up the moment it's spoken, so your eyes and ears move together. Rewind by sentence, slow the pace down to 0.75× or push it to 1.5×, or tap any word to start listening from that exact spot. Reading becomes listening practice — without switching apps.
- Word-by-word highlighting keeps your place while you listen.
- Skip back and forward by sentence; speed from 0.75× to 1.5×.
- Tap a word — playback starts from there. Missed a line? Hear it again.
ENGLISH · LISTENING
To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name.
In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex.
One row of controls: transport, the EN↔RU slider, speed — nothing covers the text.
Tap a word — get the whole picture
One tap opens a card built for that word: the translation in this context, transcription and pronunciation, how frequent the word actually is, its forms, the grammar it's wearing in your sentence, and a plain-words description. On the phone it slides up as a sheet with big thumb-friendly buttons; on the desktop it sits right by the word.
- Translation, transcription, audio and a frequency rank in one tap.
- Forms, the grammar of this exact sentence, and descriptions — one level deeper when you want them.
- Save the words worth keeping — even offline; learn them later in the app.
исчезать, пропадать
On the phone — a bottom sheet with big actions; on the desktop — a card by the word.
Stuck on a line? Your language is right alongside
On our curated titles, the native translation sits sentence-for-sentence beside the English. A thumb-friendly slider cross-fades between the original and the translation — open exactly as much as you need, then slide back. Colour marks at sentence starts keep your place while you switch.
- Sentence-for-sentence, English beside your native language.
- Drag the EN↔RU slider and uncover exactly as much translation as you need.
- Colour marks at sentence starts help your eyes find the spot instantly.
ENGLISH
To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name.
In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex.
РУССКИЙ
Для Шерлока Холмса она всегда оставалась той самой женщиной. Я редко слышал, чтобы он называл её каким-либо другим именем.
В его глазах она затмевает всех представительниц своего пола.
The slider cross-fades original and translation — as much help as you want, no more.
Drop in your own book — and take it offline
You're not stuck with our shelf. Add your own EPUB or FB2 and read it with the same dictionary, grammar and audio tools. Download any book to your device and keep reading with no connection — underground, on a plane, out of town. Taps and saved words queue up quietly and sync when you're back.
- Drag in an EPUB or FB2 — processing takes seconds.
- Whole books saved to your device for offline reading.
- Lookups and saved words sync back automatically on reconnect.
Your own book gets the same dictionary and grammar; downloaded books work with no signal at all.
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Works in any browser
Phone, tablet, or computer — nothing to install. Add the Reader to your home screen and it opens like a regular app.
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Save words as you read
Tap to save any word to your list as you read. When you want to actually memorise them, the LangOrbit app turns your saved words into spaced-repetition practice.
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No ads, no tracking sale
Data sits on EU servers (Hetzner, Germany). Privacy-respecting analytics only. No third-party ad networks. Ever.
Accessibility
Reading that adapts to you — including dyslexia and ADHD.
Long texts in a foreign language are hard enough. The Reader removes the barriers it can — honestly, without medical promises.
Fonts for dyslexia, a ruler for focus
The Reader ships with OpenDyslexic and Atkinson Hyperlegible — typefaces many readers with dyslexia find easier to hold onto — alongside the regular serif and sans faces. And when dense pages make your eyes wander, the reading ruler keeps a soft band of focus on the lines you're reading and dims the rest; drag it down as you go. A small thing — but it's often what makes a long chapter finishable when attention drifts.
- OpenDyslexic and Atkinson Hyperlegible, one tap away in settings.
- A draggable reading ruler that holds your place in dense text.
- Text size, font weight and interface scale — tuned separately for day and night themes.
The little prince sat down on a stone and looked up
into the sky. “I wonder,” he said, “whether the stars
are lit up so that each of us can find his own again.”
He looked at the desert folds of sand before him.
“The stars are beautiful, because of a flower that
The ruler dims everything but the lines you're on; fonts switch in one tap.
How it works
From reading to understanding — in three steps.
Open, read, and look up — then carry on learning the words in the app.
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1
Open a book — ours or yours
Pick a classic from our library — every book there comes with a sentence-aligned parallel translation — or upload your own EPUB or FB2.
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2
Read, listen, and tap what you don't know
A tap opens the word's card; save the ones worth keeping. Press Listen to hear the chapter with word-by-word highlighting. Under sentences with a construction worth knowing, a “Grammar” row appears with a short breakdown.
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3
Learn what you saved in the app
Saved words sync with the LangOrbit app, where they turn into practice and spaced repetition — so what you learn doesn't fade.
FAQ
Questions about the Reader
Does the Reader read books aloud?
Yes. Press Listen and the Reader reads the chapter aloud, highlighting each word as it's spoken — karaoke-style. You can jump back and forward by sentence, change the speed from 0.75× to 1.5×, or tap any word to start listening from there.
Is the Reader dyslexia-friendly?
The Reader ships with the OpenDyslexic and Atkinson Hyperlegible typefaces, and lets you tune text size, font weight and day/night themes. Many readers with dyslexia find these settings make long texts noticeably more comfortable — though everyone is different, so it's worth trying them on a real chapter, free.
Is there a reading ruler for focus?
Yes — an on-screen reading ruler holds a soft highlight band on the lines you're reading and dims the rest. Drag it as you go. Readers who struggle to keep their place in dense text — a common ADHD frustration — tend to find it helps.
Can I read my own books?
Yes. Upload your own EPUB or FB2 and read it with the same tap-to-translate dictionary and in-context grammar as the built-in library. The sentence-by-sentence parallel translation is only on our library titles, though.
Can I read offline?
Yes. Download any book to your device and keep reading without a connection. Word taps and saved words queue locally and sync the moment you're back online.
Which file formats are supported?
EPUB and FB2 — the two most common open e-book formats. If your book is in another format, convert it to EPUB first with a free tool like Calibre.
What level of English do I need to read books in the original?
You can start earlier than you think. With the tap-to-translate dictionary and the translation beside the text, simple classics work from about A2, and most originals feel comfortable from B1. Every book in the library shows its level (A1–C1), so it's easy to pick one that fits.
What happens to the words I tap?
The card shows the translation in context, transcription, pronunciation, frequency, forms, grammar and a description — and you can save the word to your list. To actually learn saved words, open the LangOrbit app: they enter a spaced-repetition schedule there. The Reader itself stays focused on comfortable reading.
Is the Reader free?
The Reader is free to try — the full product, within daily limits, no card and no signup wall. Beyond that it's paid; the free tier is enough to see whether it's for you.
Open a book and start reading.
No download, no signup wall. The Reader opens straight into the first chapter.
Open the ReaderWorks on phone, tablet, and desktop. Want the full learning loop? See the LangOrbit app.