Ask your book anything.

An ebook reader with an AI that has read exactly as far as you have. Highlight a line, ask anything, never get spoiled.

Coming to Android and iOS.

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.

Ask without leaving the page.

No copying text into another app. No losing your place.

9:41
Chapter 1 · Loomings

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.

It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet…

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Loomings2 of 99:41 · 82%
Moby-DickUp to Chapter 1
“a damp, drizzly November in my soul”
What does he mean by this?
Read 2 passages · 3s
Why the sea?Who is Ishmael?

01Hold a line.

Any sentence, on any page. Tap Ask AI.

Answers shaped like the question.

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.

Pride and Prejudice

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

Show how they're connected

Same question. Three readers.

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.

  1. 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

  2. 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

    • The Pequod
    • Ahab's ivory leg

    Uses chapters 1–30 only

  3. 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

    • The Pequod
    • Ahab's ivory leg
    • Moby Dick
    • The doubloon
    • Fedallah

    Uses chapters 1–99 only

It asks before it guesses, and shows its work.

Why does she say that?

Paused for a quick question

Which moment do you mean?

Something else…

Asks when it's unclear

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?

Read 3 passages · 7s
  1. Found your place Ch. 1
  2. Checked the chapter notes Ch. 1
  3. Read 3 passages Ch. 1

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.

Shows what it read

Every answer lists the passages it used, so you can check it against the book.

A quiet page first.

Before any AI, it's a reader you'll want to spend hours in.

Made for long sessions

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

HighlightsNotesVocabulary

WORD OF THE DAY

hypos /ˈhaɪpoʊz/

Low spirits; a fit of gloom. Short for hypochondria.

From Moby-Dick

A Journal that keeps up

Highlights, notes, and the words you look up.

  • Thursday readersMoby-Dick · 3 reading this weekAKM
  • Sam & mePride & Prejudice · both past halfwaySJ
  • Long winterMiddlemarch · just startedRL

Read together, quietly

Private rooms for a few friends. See who's reading, never their exact page.

EPUBmiddlemarch.epub86 chapters
  • Reading the chapters
  • Noting who's who
  • Mapping the story so far

Ready to ask

Reads your book once

Add an EPUB and Parlen maps it: the chapters, the people, the story so far at every page. Ready in minutes.

Questions, answered.

Something we missed? Write to oba@parlen.app. A person reads every one.

We're testing with a small group now. People on the waitlist get in first, in the order they joined, and we'll email you when it's your turn.

Reading, importing and notes will be free, with some questions included. A paid plan will cover heavier use of the AI. We'll share prices before launch, and the waitlist hears first.

Only if they're DRM-free. Store-locked books can't be opened outside their store's own app. Plenty of shops and publishers sell DRM-free EPUBs, and thousands of classics are free from Standard Ebooks and Project Gutenberg.

EPUB gets everything, including questions. Parlen also opens PDF, MOBI, AZW3, FB2 and CBZ files for reading. Asking questions works with EPUB for now.

It's built not to. Answers draw only on the text of your book, and each one shows the passages it used, so you can check. If the pages you've read don't settle something, it tells you instead of guessing.

Not by default. Answers stop at your bookmark. If a question can only be answered with a spoiler, Parlen says so and lets you choose. On a re-read, you can turn protection off.

No. Parlen works out what kind of book it's reading and answers in the shape that fits: cast lists and arcs for fiction, steps for self-help, definitions and comparisons for science and philosophy.

Just you. In a reading room, friends see that you're reading and roughly how far along you are. Never the book's text, and never your exact page.

Android and iOS. Your library, your place and your notes follow you from one phone to the next.

Reading, highlights and notes do, and they sync when you're back online. Asking questions needs a connection.
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Your next book deserves a better reader.

One email when it's your turn. No newsletter.