2025.04.28 - Audiobook Bookmark Transcription?
Every day, on walks or in the car, I listen to audiobooks. And every day, I bookmark passages in those audiobooks. Most of the time, that's where it ends, and I hate it.
The Problem: Bookmark Purgatory
I've got years of bookmarks trapped in Audible and Google Play Books. I bookmark sections of text the way I highlight excerpts in ebooks. Hundreds of little moments where I thought, "That's important!" But unlike ebook highlights that sync nicely to note apps using tools like Readwise, these audio bookmarks are basically useless without a ton of extra work. Let's look at the options.
Option 1: The Manual Headache
Download the book if it's not already on your device, open it, find each bookmark (which is never exactly where I wanted it because, hello, I was driving), and then either:
- Transcribe it manually (kill me now)
- Use a screen recorder or second device to grab the audio for AI transcription.
It's doable, but it's a pain. It gets worse if you don't transcribe immediately after finishing the book, because you forget the context of a bookmark and must relisten to a longer excerpt to understand why you bookmarked it in the first place.
Option 2: Buy the Same Book Again
Find the corresponding page in an ebook version and highlight it there instead. This actually works... if you're cool with buying everything twice.
I do this more than I'd like to admit. My digital library mirrors my audio collection for books I really care about. I'm a big fan of supporting authors, but I have the privilege of being able to afford multiple copies of the same book. For those who don't, this is like a tax on using audiobooks effectively.
Option 3: A Real World Physical Book Thing
Buy the physical book, find the page, and use Google Lens to capture the text. My bookshelf is basically a monument to this workaround. At least I'm supporting authors, and I try to buy different places to support indie bookstores as well.
But even if I love buying multiple copies of the same book, and even if I'd do it anyway, this is a silly workaround to grab some text.
And the real killer: we have the technology to fix it!
The Solution: Another Gemini Button!
My phone transcribes voicemails. My meetings get auto-captioned. But somehow audiobook apps missed the memo.
The solution is not complicated. Imagine you're using Google Play Books. You hear something brilliant. Next to the bookmark button is a little Gemini icon (they've slapped AI everywhere else, why not here?). Tap it and choose "Transcribe 30/60/90 seconds" forward and backward from your current position. That quote is now in your notes alongside your text highlights. Or better yet, "Hey Google, Transcribe 30." And if not Google, whatever integrated AI the provider prefers.
Is this rocket science? Nope. It's connecting dots that already exist.
So why isn't this a thing? Maybe it's copyright paranoia. Maybe it's tech integration challenges. Maybe it's specific licensing arrangements with audio book publishers. Or maybe the platforms think it's too much of an edge case to bother with. (I'd guess it's a combination of 3 and 4).
Whatever the reason, it's a massive oversight. People who listen to audiobooks still want to reference what they're consuming. I know I'm not the only one. I've seen AI tools on GitHub trying to solve this problem, but those are complicated workarounds that shouldn't be necessary.
A Friendly Ask. And a Serious Offer.
To Audible, Google, Apple, Publishers, and everyone else in the audiobook game: Please fix this! You have the technology. The need is real. I'm not looking to transcribe entire chapters. A few paragraphs at most. And only to reference them in my notes, not to republish. Add whatever safeguards you need to add to prevent copyright theft. I fully support that. Of course, those rules have already been established in ebooks, so you don't need to reinvent the wheel.
Fellow audiobook listeners: How do you handle this problem? Found any better solutions?
And hey, Google, if you're reading: Call me! I'm a good product manager. I'll join the team. I've basically written half the spec already.