Show HN: Alexandria, a New Way to Read the Classics
alexandria.wikiAlexandria is the first library where you can talk to a tutor — in the book itself — as you read.
Move at a contemplative pace in Lightning Mode, then ask Virgil — your Socratic guide — for context, questions, or counter-arguments.
Virgil blends the depth of the entire classics catalog with a pedagogy crafted by Professor Zohar Atkins and tailors every conversation to your interests.
Features:
• Lightning Mode — focus by reading one sentence at a time. • Virgil — an AI tutor that explains passages, challenges your thinking, follows your curiosity, and remembers what excites you. • Build and Share your Bookshelf — curate favorites, get smart recommendations, and send highlighted quotes to friends; social bookshelves turn passive libraries into shareable conversations. • Daily Sparks — one thought-provoking excerpt every morning, plus a guided conversation with Virgil. • 4,000+ Works — all the most iconic thinkers, from Plato and Sun Tzu to Nietzsche and Jane Austen, plus hidden gems for adventurous readers.
Our Mission: to inspire learning as a way of life.
Available on the App Store and coming soon to Google Play.
I loved how my conversation about Lord Byron's Don Juan morphed into a discussion about the history of psychological realism. And I also learned, oddly, that William James, wrote in his letters about applying pragmatist lessons to fatherhood. I had no idea. Great conversations go to unexpected places. And AI is uniquely positioned to deliver on that.