How do I get through a classic when one sentence stops me?

Why copying into a chatbot does not work for long

It is slow, it loses the context of the page, and after a few round trips most readers stop asking and start skimming. The point of asking inside the book is that the question costs one tap, and the answer knows which book you are in.

Three kinds of help, for three kinds of stuck

• A word you do not know, or a spelling that is not a word — an archaic term, a dialect spelling like Madame’s "cheaile" in Uncle Silas. Choose Explain.
• A sentence that runs half a page — Victorian syntax, nested clauses. Choose Translate into your own language, or Explain for a plain paraphrase.
• A reference you half recognise — a classical allusion, a historical event, a name. Choose Chat and ask exactly what you want to know.

For readers whose first language is not English

Translate works on the passage you selected, with the sentences around it as context, so idioms and period usage come out as meaning rather than as a literal word list. The interface itself is available in nine languages.

Start with the whole, then the parts

For a long novel, open AI Digest first: an introduction built from the title, outline and short chapter excerpts. Knowing the shape of the book makes the hard pages feel less like walls.

What the AI will not do

It can be wrong, and it says so. It does not replace the text; it sits beside it. Treat answers as reading assistance and check anything that matters.

Step by step

1. 01

   Select

   Press and hold a word, then drag to cover the sentence.

2. 02

   Ask

   Tap Translate, Explain or Chat.

3. 03

   Read the answer beside the text

   The page stays visible; nothing is pasted anywhere.

4. 04

   Keep going

   Close the panel and continue. Save a highlight if you want to come back.