O ctopus Books is an AI-powered reading companion that lets you upload any book, chapter, or manuscript and have a thoughtful, memory-rich conversation with it. Powered by GPT-4o, LangChain, and real-time document embeddings, the app remembers everything you've discussed and pulls context from across the pages so you can reflect, question, and explore ideas as deeply as you like.
🧠 Live Architecture
- Streamlit Cloud: Serves the conversational reading app with a sleek, reactive UI
- LangChain: Orchestrates RAG pipeline and manages chat memory per session
- ChromaDB (Local): Stores embedded chunks from uploaded books for fast retrieval
- OpenAI GPT-4o: Powers real-time, context-aware responses from your book
- Session Memory: Maintains ongoing chat history to simulate deep, evolving conversations
- Temporary File Storage: Uploaded PDFs processed securely and discarded after use
Backend
Python
LangChain (RAG)
Chroma (Vector Store)
Frontend
Streamlit
Minimal HTML
AI Engine / Function Calling
OpenAI GPT-4o
PyPDFLoader
Infrastructure
SQLite3 (local logging)
CI / CD
GitHub Actions
🧪 How It Works
Step 1: Upload a Book
Drop in any PDF to begin
Start by uploading a PDF of a book, manuscript, or article. Octopus Books processes it instantly and prepares it for exploration.
Step 2: Slice & Embed
Convert text into searchable memory
The app splits your book into overlapping chunks and stores them as vector embeddings using ChromaDB for fast, meaningful retrieval.
Step 3: Ask Anything
Converse with your book
Ask thoughtful or specific questions—per chapter, per theme, or across the entire text. GPT-4o generates responses using both your query and the retrieved context.
Step 4: Track the Thread
Every chat deepens the narrative
Each conversation is saved in session memory, so the more you ask, the richer and more context-aware your book becomes—like reading with a brilliant friend.
Step 5: Reflect & Rediscover
Unlock new layers in the text
Use Octopus Books to reread, reframe, and reimagine your favorite works. Ask what you missed, test theories, or trace characters through the plot.
"I always wanted a way to explore my favorite books more deeply. Octopus Books makes it feel like the story is thinking back." - Maya Zhou
📁 Repository Structure
Octopus_Books_V2/
│
├── ebook_tutor.py # Streamlit app for chatting with uploaded books
├── requirements.txt # Python dependencies for LangChain, OpenAI, Streamlit
├── README.md # Project overview and usage instructions
├── LICENSE # Open source license
├── .gitignore # Ignores environment files, __pycache__, etc.
├── .gitattributes # GitHub linguist and text file handling config
└── .DS_Store # (macOS file — safe to ignore or delete)
📁 Run Locally
git clone https://github.com/LannonTheCannon/Octopus_Books_V2.git cd Octopus_Books_V2 python3 -m venv venv source venv/bin/activate pip install -r requirements.txt streamlit run ebook_tutor.py