Listen.Ask.{{ c.a }}{{ c.t }}Keep reading.

412/8,214

Close the lid mid-chapter. When you come back, Perch picks up at the exact sentence and offers a short recap of what you’ve read so far.

A reading companion for your PDFs. Listen as you read, ask about a difficult passage, and explore the ideas taking shape. When you return, pick up with your place remembered and the thread of the book in mind.

Apple silicon · macOS 14+ Download for Mac
Crime and Punishment · ch. 2
sentence 412 / 8,214 · 1.0× · 9 h 41 m left
Read your way

Rest your eyes.Read the book.{{ c.k }}{{ c.t }}

Listen while the words stay in view. Follow the highlighted sentence, adjust the pace, and return to reading whenever you like.

Follow every sentence
See the passage being read aloud, right where it belongs.
Find your pace
Slow down for a difficult idea or speed up when the reading comes easily.
Hear the recap
Listen to a reminder of what you covered before moving on.
Return to your sentence
Close the app and come back to the place you reached.
Crime and Punishment
Part II · Chapter 6
p. 52 / 612•••

He went out into the street, and the cold air struck his face. The city seemed both familiar and strange, and for a moment he felt as though he were moving through a dream. He walked without a clear plan, letting the sounds and movements around him wash over him, unable to settle his thoughts.

0.9×Natural Voice Now reading 12:34 / 28:17
A clearer read

Stay with the wordsthat matter.{{ c.k }}{{ c.t }}

Running heads and page numbers belong on the page, not in every sentence you hear. Perch sets them aside, shows you what changed, and lets you choose what to include.

On the pageOriginal textRead aloudYour choice
{{ r.el }} {{ r.page }} {{ r.hear }} {{ r.res }}
{{ c.n }}
{{ c.l }}

Your book, your choices. Adjust what gets read aloud; Perch remembers the settings for this document.

Make time to read

A little time.A little further.{{ c.k }}{{ c.t }}

Give the next half hour to your book. Choose what to skip and when to pause for a recap, then settle into a session that suits you.

Hold ⌥ to speak
“Read for thirty minutes. Skip citations and recap every ten.”
30 minutes Skip citations Recap every 10 minutes
{{ s.k }} {{ s.v }}
Keep your flow

Choose which interruptions to leave out of this session.

Make room to understand

Pause for an explanation when an idea needs more attention.

Keep the thread

Hear a recap at the interval you choose.

Ask as you read

Make sense ofthe passage you’re on.{{ c.k }}{{ c.t }}

A sentence that won’t click. A definition you half remember. An argument you want to follow. Ask Perch about your document and open the passages behind its answer.

Type or speak your question. Page references give you a way back to the author’s words.

Your question What is the author saying in this passage?
Perch’s explanation

Raskolnikov has been keeping away from everyone. Here, for the first time, he wants company, which suggests his isolation is starting to weigh on him.

Supporting passages
{{ c.p }} {{ c.t }}
Listen → Ask → Carry on
1
Read or listen

Stay with the book until something makes you pause.

2
Ask in your own words

Type a question or hold ⌥ to speak: “What does this mean?”

3
Carry on with more clarity

Check the passage behind the answer, then resume where you stopped.

Back to my place →
Come back to the book

A little forgetful?RECAP.{{ c.k }}{{ c.t }}

Been a while? Revisit your last session, the current chapter or everything so far. Get your bearings, then continue from the sentence you reached.

A quick reminder
The events and ideas you covered, gathered into a short recap.
Where things stand
The people, developments and questions still in play.
Ready when you are
Read the recap or listen to it. Then return to your place.
Crime and Punishment
Crime and Punishment
Fyodor Dostoevsky
•••
Last sessionThis chapterEverything so far
What you coveredp. 28 → 41

Raskolnikov has an uneasy visit and leaves with more questions. The encounter deepens his sense of isolation and sharpens his inner conflict.

Where things standp. 41

He is growing more unsettled, caught between his theory and the weight of what he has done.

Still open
How he will respond to increasing pressure
What he will do next
Whether he can find a way to live with himself
Resume reading
See the bigger picture

Delve in the text.Explore more.{{ c.k }}{{ c.t }}

Follow a person, an idea or a turning point across the pages you’ve read. By default, Explore stops at your current page. Open up the whole book when you’re ready.

Keep track of people
Remember who’s who and how their lives connect.
Follow an idea
See where a theme appears and return to the passages that develop it.
Revisit key moments
Find important events and explore the order in which they unfold.
Choose how far to look
Stay up to your place, or switch to the whole book.
Explore this book
OverviewExploreConnectionsGlossaryMy reading
Up to my placeWhole book
p. 46 · Showing up to your place
People
Key characters you’ve met so far.
Ideas
Themes and concepts.
Key moments
Important events in order.
Look a little closer

Scaffolding.How Characters andThemes evolve.{{ c.k }}{{ c.t }}{{ c.k }}{{ c.t }}

A claim rests on a reason. A passage recalls an earlier idea. Follow those connections with the relevant pages close at hand.

Follow the reasoning
Examine a claim alongside the reasons given for it.
Notice the echoes
Return to an earlier passage that helps illuminate this one.
Read it in context
Open the source and decide what you make of the connection.
Claim

He tells himself that extraordinary people can step beyond ordinary rules when it serves a higher purpose.

Listen from p. 32p. 32
Supporting reasons
He argues that common morality does not apply to exceptional individuals.
p. 28
He points to historical figures as an example.
p. 31
Earlier connection

An earlier passage shows him admiring people who dare to break the rules.

Open passage →p. 12
Earlier connection

He again questions whether ordinary morality is enough to explain the world.

Open passage →p. 24
Remember the idea. Find the passage.
{{ i.q }} {{ i.r }}
Words in context

Understand the word.Stay with the thought.{{ c.k }}{{ c.t }}

Look up an unfamiliar term in the context of your book. See when a definition comes from the author and when Perch has added an explanation.

Find a word or term
AllAuthor’s definitionsPerch’s notes
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
PledgePerch’s note
An item given as security for a loan.p. 18
Make it yours

Keep the passage.Add your thinking.{{ c.k }}{{ c.t }}

Save a line you want to return to. Write down why it matters. When you want to test your understanding, try a question about what you’ve read and get feedback grounded in the book.

He stood for a long time without moving, as if trying to seemed the reality of what had happened, and whether there was still a way back to his old life.

p. 41
Your note

This moment shows how far he has already moved from the person he was at the start.

Listen•••
Put it in your own words
What motivates his decision?
Write your answer…
Check my answerNext question →

A familiar name.
Said the way you expect.

When a name or term sounds wrong, give Perch the pronunciation you prefer. It remembers your correction for the next time that word appears.

{{ w.w }} {{ w.s }}

Take the next chapter
with you.

Export your reading as an M4A or M4B audio file, with chapters based on the document’s headings. Create it on your Mac, then listen in your preferred audio player.

{{ c.n }} {{ c.t }} {{ c.d }}
+ 37 more · ≈ 14 h · 612 MB

Start with something
you want to read.

1
Open a PDF

Bring a book, paper or report. Scanned PDFs can be processed too.

2
Settle in

Choose a voice and a comfortable pace. Read, listen or follow along.

3
Follow your curiosity

Ask about a passage, explore an idea, or save something worth returning to.

Reading aloud runs on your Mac. Questions, book analysis and scan processing use online services. With online assistance enabled, some text may also be sent while a document is being prepared.

Keep the source close

Read the explanation.
Check the passage.

Perch’s explanations include page references so you can return to the text and judge the answer for yourself. AI can get things wrong; the original passage remains your point of reference.

How Perch handles your documents →

{{ t.k }} {{ t.v }}

A few things
before you begin.

{{ f.q }}

{{ f.a }}

There’s morein your next book.{{ c.k }}{{ c.t }}

Open the PDF you’ve been meaning to read. Find your pace, follow your questions, and see where the next chapter takes you.

Download for Mac Apple silicon · macOS 14+