Converts Gutenberg text files into spoken audio files.

gutenberg_text2audio.rb

#!/usr/bin/env ruby -w
#
# Converts Gutenberg text files into spoken audio files.
#
require 'rubygems'

text = String.new
File.open(ARGV.first) { |f| text = f.read }
chapters = text.split(/^CHAPTER .*$/)
chapters.each_with_index do |chapter, index|
  index = index + 1
  txt_file = "Chapter #{index}.txt"
  aiff_file = "Chapter #{index}.aiff"
  puts "generating chapter #{index}"
  File.open(txt_file, 'w') { |f| f.puts "CHAPTER #{index}\n" + chapter }
  puts "generating audio for chapter #{index}"
  system("say -f '#{txt_file}' -o '#{aiff_file}'")
end