Sharon Domier's blog

I have been looking for the whispersync technology for Japanese books, where the text being read aloud is indicated with highlighting. While I would really love the audio to be read by a professional narrator (like paying for the kindle+audible option) I am willing to accept computer generated voice.

It pops up here or there but the trick is figuring out how to generate it.

Google Play Books – there is a … menu option that lets you turn on Start Reading Aloud/Stop reading aloud. It does not read the furigana along side the kanji, but beware that when the author has chosen a specific reading for a particular kanji (especially in light novels) the computer generated voice will likely give you the common reading instead.

It works! And since it is Google, clicking on kanji will bring up the Jpn dictionary. Score!!

Looking at Google Play Books, here is the info on a Japanese light novel: Language: Japanese Genres: Juvenile Fiction / General
Content Protection: This content is DRM protected.
Read Aloud: Available on Android devices

READING INFORMATION
Smartphones and Tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and Computers
You can read books purchased on Google Play using your computer’s web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like the Sony eReader or Barnes & Noble Nook, you’ll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Please follow the detailed Help center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.

iBooks also has this capability. It is under the Edit menu->Speech->Start/Stop Speaking. BUT, it reads both the kanji and the furigana and it doesn’t highlight the text being spoken. This seems to be different than the Google Play read technology. Remember that with your Mac, you want to go into the Accessibility menu and you can choose either the female voice or the male voice and change the speed of speaking.