ReadKinetic - Free local-first RSVP speed reader for your own books
Show HN: ReadKinetic – a free, local-first speed reader for your own books
ReadKinetic is a powerful, free RSVP speed reading application designed to run entirely on your local device. It empowers readers to consume their personal book collections at accelerated speeds without relying on cloud services or internet connectivity. By utilizing the Rapid Serial Visual Presentation technique, the app flashes words one by one to eliminate eye movement and increase reading efficiency. This privacy-focused tool ensures your data stays secure while helping you master faster reading habits. Whether you are a developer, student, or avid reader, ReadKinetic offers a seamless way to maximize your learning and comprehension through optimized text delivery.
ReadKinetic brings the power of RSVP speed reading directly to your device, keeping your books private while helping you read faster and smarter.
- jmiskovic
I like that there is a fallback to read the full text, but why are there two such app modes? I think if the main (non-popup) one should absorb the other's features like scrolling and bookmarks.
For some texts the layout is also important to understand the context. Poems, structured text, paragraph breaks. If you read word by word and stumble into block of structured text, it's a lot of friction to figure out. I would love a background low fidelity representation of paragraphs, like the minimap in code editors, with the current word highlighted there. It could be passively monitored for places to switch mode to reading the full text, and to keep spatial orientation around character dialogs and such. It would have to not draw attention to itself though.
The theme circle icons are not useful, they should preview text background and color.
I see Dyslexic font is already built-in!
Code is not available? It would be fun to hook this to browser extension to fast-read article in a ReadKinetic popup.
I didn't mind the controls at all, they are obviously for touch and not mouse and it seems inspired by video player controls. This is a kind of app that you spend hours with, so better to have more features and options than to be beginner friendly. Very nice app, I like it so far.
- kesor
Nice. I made a similar thing as a TamperMonkey script that I can turn on and off on any website, it even includes a speed-controlled-voice that can read it for me.
One small annoyance with your app is the instructions in the welcome were tiny. Took me well over a minute to figure out how to control the thing, until I finally found those small hand icons in the right corner. You should consider adding these to the first page of welcome using a large-er size or something.
- hazn
i have tried variations of this many time, it personally doesn't work for me. the word flashes into my brain, and i can keep up with "reading" at high wpm's, but the whole sentence doesn't register. i am not seeing the forest because of all the trees.
- dombiscoff
Sounds like a pointless endeavour to me. This infinite efficiency quest for speed reading is chief pursued by those who don't read regularly, and so don't understand that ones comprehension comes from the pauses, the page turns, and the backtracks which make up reading traditionally. If one has no time to digest, are they truly reading a book or just an impromptu script?
- Arshad-Talpur
The idea looks cool , i think along with optimization reading time if it also allows you set your frequency and then read the book accordingly it would really make an impact , for i sometimes want to read slowly if the topic is of my interest. Just a suggestion