# Alexandria

> Alexandria is a reading and text-to-speech platform that helps you actually remember what you read. Save articles, books, and PDFs from anywhere on the web. Listen with word-by-word highlighting, then surface the bits you need to remember through spaced repetition. Built by Elliott Tong (UK), launched 2024. The Chrome extension is free.

Alexandria was previously known as FlowRead. The Chrome extension is the front door for most users; the web app at read.alexandria.live is where saved content, retention features, and the library live. Marketing site is at alexandria.live.

## Story and security

- [Why Alexandria exists](https://alexandria.live/story): Founder background and the learning-science thesis behind the product. Elliott Tong's journey from learning support at age 5 to building the active reading platform he wished he had.
- [How Alexandria handles security](https://alexandria.live/security): Site blocking on 200+ sensitive domains (banks, password managers, healthcare), Manifest V3, zero data storage policy.
- [Privacy policy](https://alexandria.live/privacy): What we collect, what we do not, and how to exercise GDPR rights.

## Reader settings

- [Accessibility settings](https://alexandria.live/accessibility): How Alexandria supports dyslexia, ADHD, and visual impairment workflows.
- [Dyslexia-friendly colours](https://alexandria.live/dyslexia-colors): Background and text colour pairings tested for dyslexic readers.
- [Reading fonts](https://alexandria.live/reading-fonts): OpenDyslexic, Atkinson Hyperlegible, and other fonts for readability.

## Use cases

- [Listen to Gmail Emails](https://alexandria.live/use-cases/listen-to-gmail-emails): Turn your inbox into audio
- [Listen to Outlook Emails](https://alexandria.live/use-cases/listen-to-outlook-emails): TTS for Outlook web and Microsoft 365
- [Listen to Zoho Mail Emails](https://alexandria.live/use-cases/listen-to-zoho-emails): Add TTS to Zoho Mail (no native TTS)
- [Listen to Any Article](https://alexandria.live/use-cases/listen-to-articles): TTS for Substack, Medium, news, blogs

## Comparisons

- [Comparisons hub](https://alexandria.live/compare): Index of side-by-side comparisons of Alexandria against other TTS tools.
- [Alexandria vs Speechify](https://alexandria.live/compare/alexandria-vs-speechify): Honest side-by-side: free-tier limits, voice quality, retention features, real cost of switching.
- [Alexandria vs NaturalReader](https://alexandria.live/compare/alexandria-vs-natural-reader): Where each tool wins on long-form reading, ADHD-friendly UX, and price-per-feature.
- [Alexandria vs Read Aloud](https://alexandria.live/compare/alexandria-vs-read-aloud): The free Chrome TTS comparison: voice quality, customisation, and what is missing from each.

## Best of

- [Best-of guides hub](https://alexandria.live/best): Index of "best reading and TTS tool" guides by category.
- [Best text-to-speech Chrome extension](https://alexandria.live/best/text-to-speech-chrome-extension): How Alexandria stacks up against the most-installed Chrome TTS extensions in 2026.
- [Best text-to-speech for ADHD](https://alexandria.live/best/text-to-speech-for-adhd): TTS that actually helps with ADHD reading workflows, ranked on retention support not just voice quality.
- [Best reading app for students](https://alexandria.live/best/reading-app-for-students): Comparing reading apps on textbook handling, retention features, and free-tier limits.

## Blog

- [Active Recall vs Passive Reading: What Does the Research Actually Show?](https://alexandria.live/blog/active-recall-vs-passive-reading): Active recall study method beats rereading by ~50% on delayed retention. The Karpicke, Roediger, and Bjork research, plus why spaced repetition flashcards work.
- [What Is Cognitive Load Theory? (And Why Reading Hard Things Feels Like Drowning)](https://alexandria.live/blog/cognitive-load-theory-reading): Cognitive load theory, plain English. John Sweller's framework explains why your brain stalls on dense articles, and what to do about it.
- [What Is the Forgetting Curve, and How Do You Beat It?](https://alexandria.live/blog/forgetting-curve-explained): The Ebbinghaus forgetting curve explains why you forget 70% of what you read within a day. Here's the 1885 study, the data, and what actually flattens the curve.
- [How to Learn Faster Without Any of the Hacks](https://alexandria.live/blog/how-to-learn-faster): A four-move method for learning faster, grounded in the research on retrieval practice, spacing, desirable difficulties, and elaborative encoding. No speed-reading. No memory palaces.
- [How Do You Listen to a PDF? (And Will You Actually Remember It?)](https://alexandria.live/blog/how-to-listen-to-pdfs): Read PDF aloud with browser TTS, Adobe Reader, system voices, or a dedicated reader. Step-by-step for each tool, plus what listening does to retention.
- [Notion vs Obsidian: Which One Actually Helps You Remember What You Saved?](https://alexandria.live/blog/notion-vs-obsidian): An honest comparison of Notion and Obsidian, plus the reframe most people miss: storage isn't the bottleneck. Retrieval is.
- [Pocket Is Dead. What Do You Do With Your Bookmark Graveyard?](https://alexandria.live/blog/pocket-is-dead-bookmark-graveyard): Pocket's read-it-later service is shutting down. The migration question hides a bigger one: was your saved-articles list ever actually a reading list, or just a graveyard?
- [Speechify vs Natural Reader: Which One Helps You Remember More?](https://alexandria.live/blog/speechify-vs-natural-reader): An honest comparison of Speechify and Natural Reader for retention, not just listening speed. Pricing, voices, real-world recall, and where each one falls short.
- [Why You Forget Everything You Read (And the Neuroscience Fix)](https://alexandria.live/blog/why-you-forget-everything-you-read): You forget what you read because passive reading creates weak memory encoding. Learn what the neuroscience actually says and the three techniques that make reading stick.
- [FlowRead Is Now Alexandria: What Changed and Why](https://alexandria.live/blog/flowread-is-now-alexandria): FlowRead has a new name. Alexandria is the reading platform built to help you actually remember what you read. Here's why we changed, and what it means for you.
- [How Do You Listen to Your Kindle Books?](https://alexandria.live/blog/how-to-listen-to-your-kindle-books): Download your Kindle books from Amazon as EPUB files and listen with word-by-word text-to-speech. Step-by-step guide for the official 2026 Amazon download method.
- [Is AI Making You Forget How to Think?](https://alexandria.live/blog/ai-cognitive-offloading): AI cognitive offloading trades short-term convenience for long-term memory loss. The science explains why, and what tools designed for understanding do differently.
- [Why Do You Forget 77% of What You Read? The Science Explained](https://alexandria.live/blog/science-of-reading-retention): Ebbinghaus forgetting curve, testing effect, spaced repetition, dual coding: what memory science says about reading retention and why passive reading fails.
- [Is Screen Time Actually Bad for You? What 17,000 People Revealed](https://alexandria.live/blog/screen-time-aim-problem): Screen time research on 17,000+ people shows total time isn't the problem. What the screen is pointed at is.
- [Why Do You Remember Conversations But Forget Articles?](https://alexandria.live/blog/why-you-forget-articles): You forget articles because your brain outsources memory to the internet (the Google Effect). Learn the science behind why conversations stick and how to fix article retention.
- [Why Does Your Brain Give Up After 3 Paragraphs?](https://alexandria.live/blog/why-your-brain-gives-up-reading): Working memory holds ~4 chunks. Reading demands three jobs at once. When the budget runs out, comprehension collapses.
- [How to Actually Remember What You Read](https://alexandria.live/blog/how-to-remember-what-you-read): Science-backed strategies for better reading retention using active recall, spaced repetition, and dual coding.

## Optional

- [Full content archive](https://alexandria.live/llms-full.txt): Concatenated full text of every blog post on this site. Larger file, intended for offline indexing or RAG ingestion.
- [Sitemap](https://alexandria.live/sitemap.xml): XML sitemap with last-modified dates.
- [Get started](https://alexandria.live/get-started): Install instructions and onboarding flow.