The Full Story
About
Hi, I’m Ben, founder of Story Shelf, lifelong book lover, and someone who knows firsthand how hard it can be to find books in your native language when living abroad.
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When I moved away from home, I missed more than just the food and the weather, I missed the comfort of browsing through a bookstore and stumbling upon stories in my own language. My husband, who reads in Greek, had (and still has) it even harder. Books became something we had to ask family to bring over in their suitcases.
That’s why I started Story Shelf.
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Story Shelf is here to help international readers reconnect with the joy of reading in their native tongue, and to give a global voice to independent bookstores that deserve to thrive. We’re building a curated marketplace where expats, language lovers, and multicultural families can discover books they actually want to read, all while supporting small bookstores back home.
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We’re starting small, testing by hand, one book at a time, and growing with care. For now, our first focus is on readers in Switzerland and books in Greek, Swedish, and Danish. But our goal is much bigger: to make it easy (and joyful) for anyone, anywhere, to find books in the language that feels like home.
Mission
We believe that reading in your native language shouldn’t stop just because you’ve crossed a border. At Story Shelf, we’re building a global home for readers who long to stay connected to their language, their culture, and the stories that shaped them.
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By partnering with independent bookstores around the world, we make it easier for expats and multilingual families to find and buy books in their mother tongue, no matter where they live. In doing so, we’re not just delivering books; we’re helping keep languages alive, cultures close, and small bookstores thriving.
Vision
We imagine a world where no reader feels disconnected from their language, and where every independent bookstore, no matter how small, has a place on the global stage.
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At Story Shelf, our vision is to become the go-to destination for discovering and sourcing books in your native language. A trusted space where stories travel across borders, bookstores find new life, and readers feel right at home, wherever they are.
