An ebook reader with an AI that has read exactly as far as you have. Highlight a line, ask anything, never get spoiled.
Most AI tools want to do the reading for you. Parlen does the opposite. It keeps you in the book, and helps you understand it.
No copying text into another app. No losing your place.
01Hold a line.
Any sentence, on any page. Tap Ask AI.
A cast list for a novel. Steps for a self-help book. A plain definition for philosophy. Parlen answers in the shape the book calls for.
Who's who so far?
Four people matter most at this point. Tap anyone for more, or to jump to where they first appear.
People so far
Elizabeth Bennet
Second of the five Bennet daughters
Quick, playful, hard to impress
Mr Darcy
Bingley's friend, rich and proud
Refused to dance with Elizabeth
Jane Bennet
The eldest sister
Mr Bingley clearly admires her
Mr Bingley
Has just taken Netherfield Park
Friendly, and taken with Jane
One just started, one is a quarter in, one is most of the way through. Each gets an answer from their own pages, and nothing past them.
Reader 1
Chapter 5 of 135
Who is Captain Ahab?
No one by that name has come up yet. Ishmael and Queequeg are still looking for a ship. You'll know him when you meet him.
Known so far
Nothing about Ahab yet
Uses chapters 1–5 only
Reader 2
Chapter 30 of 135
Who is Captain Ahab?
The Pequod's captain. He's finally come up on deck: grim, scarred, and standing on an ivory leg made from a sperm whale's jaw. What he wants from this voyage, he hasn't said.
Known so far
Uses chapters 1–30 only
Reader 3
Chapter 99 of 135
Who is Captain Ahab?
A captain on a hunt for revenge. Moby Dick, the white whale, took his leg; he's nailed a gold doubloon to the mast for whoever sights it first, sworn the crew to the chase, and smuggled aboard a boat crew of his own, led by Fedallah.
Known so far
Uses chapters 1–99 only
Why does she say that?
Paused for a quick question
Which moment do you mean?
If a question could mean two things, it asks, with options taken from the page you just read. Try one.
What has Darwin shown about pigeons so far?
That the fancy breeds, however different they look, almost certainly all descend from one wild bird, the rock pigeon. Breeders made the differences by choosing which birds to raise.
Every answer lists the passages it used, so you can check it against the book.
Before any AI, it's a reader you'll want to spend hours in.
Six themes, seven typefaces, and the spacing you like. Pick a theme.
Chapter 1 · Loomings
There now is your insular city of the Manhattoes, belted round by wharves as Indian isles by coral reefs—commerce surrounds it with her surf. Right and left, the streets take you waterward.
Loomings3 of 9
WORD OF THE DAY
hypos /ˈhaɪpoʊz/
Low spirits; a fit of gloom. Short for hypochondria.
From Moby-Dick
Highlights, notes, and the words you look up.
Private rooms for a few friends. See who's reading, never their exact page.
Ready to ask
Add an EPUB and Parlen maps it: the chapters, the people, the story so far at every page. Ready in minutes.
Something we missed? Write to oba@parlen.app. A person reads every one.
That's the idea. In Parlen, every line of every book you own works like this, and the answer stops at your page.
