added new blog

Author: sumit-so

app/blogs/posts/building-yoread-ai-ebook-reader.mdx

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+---
+title: "Founder Interview: AI Audiobooks Online, TTS for Ebooks"
+publishedAt: "2026-01-26"
+image: "/public/sumo-home.png"
+summary: "An in-depth interview with Rajveer, founder of yoread.com. Learn how he turned a love of reading and TTS tech into an AI-powered ebook audio experience, launched a unique 'Picture Book' feature, and grew from indie prototype to real users."
+---
+
+## Founder Q&A: Building YoRead with Rajveer
+
+An in-depth interview with Rajveer, founder of <SomeT href={"https://yoread.com?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=interview&utm_campaign=sumit"} text="YoRead" />. Learn how he turned a love of reading and TTS tech into an AI-powered ebook audio experience, launched a unique 'Picture Book' feature, and grew from indie prototype to real users.
+
+<YouTube id="1O7hiuLh8-Q" />
+
+<InterviewQA items={[
+  {
+    question: `I've worked with Rajveer for about three to four months, and it was really exciting to learn that he has built his own product, <SomeT href={"https://yoread.com?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=interview&utm_campaign=sumit"} text="YoRead" />. Rajveer, could you tell us what you are currently working on?`,
+    answer: "I'm building an ebook reader that allows people to listen to their books. Basically, if you have a PDF or an ebook, you can upload it to YoRead and use text-to-speech models to listen to them. That is essentially the gist of it.",
+    speaker: "Rajveer"
+  },
+  {
+    question: `How did you come up with the idea for <SomeT href={"https://yoread.com?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=interview&utm_campaign=sumit"} text="YoRead" />, and how did your experience as a freelancer or writer help shape this product?`,
+    answer: "I love reading and have been an avid reader for the past few years. Recently, while working on a project involving TTS (text-to-speech) models, I thought, 'If I connect ebooks with text-to-speech, I'll be able to read more.' It allows me to listen while commuting to work, cooking, or doing other chores. I built the initial prototype in under two hours and have been developing the product ever since. I personally love this product because I've listened to so many of my own books on it.",
+    speaker: "Rajveer"
+  },
+  {
+    question: "Sometimes I read books with many characters. Is it possible to have multiple characters with their own unique voices, so it feels like listening to a movie or a radio play?",
+    answer: "Definitely. That's where the 'Picture Book' feature comes in, and it's more than just audio. Not only do you get unique voices for each character, but there are also images involved. I'm generating AI images to go along with your book. This feature is currently in beta, so I'm still working to improve it, but it's a very fun feature for sure.",
+    speaker: "Rajveer"
+  },
+  {
+    question: "How does the pricing work? Is it possible to read an entire book without spending anything?",
+    answer: "Yes, you can definitely listen to one or two books for free. We provide 16 hours of free listening time every month—6 hours for the web version, plus an additional 10 hours if you download the app. 16 hours is more than enough time to listen to a 500 or 600-page book.",
+    speaker: "Rajveer"
+  },
+  {
+    question: "Is the app available for both Android and iOS?",
+    answer: "Right now, it is only available for Android. I'm working on the iOS version and hope to have it available in a few months. However, the web version is already fully optimized for mobile browsers.",
+    speaker: "Rajveer"
+  },
+  {
+    question: "If someone wants to turn an idea into a full-scale product, what steps should they follow?",
+    answer: "The most important part of building a product is knowing your users and talking to them. Create a prototype of the design—not the full product itself—and see how the users feel about it. Ask them questions, like whether they are already paying for an alternative app or a similar service. Talk to as many users as possible, build a prototype to validate the idea, and then start building the actual product. By doing this, you'll have customers from Day 1.",
+    speaker: "Rajveer"
+  }
+]} />
+
+
+

app/components/mdx.tsx

@@ -64,6 +64,67 @@ function YouTube({ id }) {
   );
 }
 
+
+// function QAItems ({question, answer, speaker}) {
+//   return (
+//     <div className="my-8 border-l-4 border-tealBright pl-6">
+//       {/* Question */}
+//       <div className="mb-6">
+//         <div className="text-lg font-semibold text-black mb-2">
+//           <CustomMDX source={question} />
+//         </div>
+//       </div>
+
+//       {/* Answer */}
+//       <div className="mb-4">
+//         <p className="text-sm font-semibold text-tealBright mb-2">{speaker}</p>
+//         <div className={`${canela_regu.className} text-grey text-lg sm:text-xl leading-relaxed my-4`}>
+//           <CustomMDX source={answer} />
+//         </div>
+//       </div>
+//     </div>
+//   );
+// };
+
+function QAItems({ question, answer, speaker }) {
+  return (
+    <div className="my-8 p-6 border border-gray-200 rounded-lg shadow-md bg-white">
+      {/* Question */}
+      <div className="mb-6">
+        <div className="text-lg font-semibold text-black mb-2">
+          <CustomMDX source={question} />
+        </div>
+      </div>
+
+      {/* Answer */}
+      <div className="mb-4">
+        <p className="text-sm font-bold text-teal-600 mb-1">
+          {speaker}:
+        </p>
+        <div className="text-gray-700 text-lg sm:text-xl leading-relaxed">
+          <CustomMDX source={answer} />
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  );
+}
+
+function InterviewQA (props) {
+  let items = props.items;
+  return (
+    <div className="my-8 space-y-4">
+      {items.map((item, index) => (
+        <QAItems 
+          key={index} 
+          question={item.question} 
+          answer={item.answer}
+          speaker={item.speaker}
+        />
+      ))}
+    </div>
+  );
+};
+
 function CustomLink(props) {
   let href = props.href;
 
@@ -210,6 +271,7 @@ let components = {
   code: InlineCode,
   Table,
   YouTube,
+  InterviewQA,
   SomeT,
 };