Sometimes, I just need a little project for myself. Here's the problem I was dealing with: I actually enjoy reading, but funny as it sounds, I start yawning after just a couple of pages. Now, I could try to power through and train my brain to be a real focus superhero. But my brain said no. So, I thought to myself, why don't I use my software building skills and the knowledge I already have to build something—not for other people, but something that actually works for me?
Back in the day, I used a speed-reading app, and I clearly remember my engagement lasting way longer than normal reading. I could actually focus. I also remembered the marketing hype around binaural beats and monotones helping with focus. Obviously, I could just pay for two different apps, but where's the fun in that? I decided to merge the ideas into one and build my own speed reader.
The features I included are an audio player for binaural beats and monotones, plus the ability to upload PDF and EPUB files. I set it up with three reading modes. The first is Normal Read, where I just read like a regular human, but with options to change text size and select chapters.
The next is Speed Read mode, where I wanted a steady increase in words per minute (WPM). At 250 WPM, I can usually still vocalize the words in my head (basically reading aloud to myself). But I noticed that around 400 WPM, I stop repeating the words. For this mode, I also made the font bigger for mobile and tablet, and set up the speed viewer so I could see a couple of words forwards and backwards for context.
But listen, I'm not easily amused—I need a challenge when I read. So I thought, why not get a little AI-generated quiz on what I just read after every chapter or 3,000 words.I hooked up the Gemini API, and now I'm listening to my binaural beats, reading a book, and getting quizzed as I go.
It really did increase my ability to focus and stay engaged. I haven't devised a strict experiment to measure the exact results because that wasn't the point. The focus of this project was just to solve my own real-life problem using AI, build some software, test it out, and enjoy it.