Lireka: French Books to Readers Worldwide

For French and francophone readers living abroad, finding French-language books can be a challenge. Why? Because of high shipping costs, limited local selections, and frequent delays of the latest releases. This is where Lireka comes in! The platform addresses these needs. How? By offering over one million French titles with free worldwide delivery, ranging from literature and comics to children’s books and specialized works.

A Story Born Abroad

Originally, Lireka was founded by Marc Bordier and Emmanuelle Henry, later joined by Robin Mallein. These three French expatriates had firsthand experience with the frustration of buying books from abroad. Their project combines lire (to read) and Eurêka! (the joy of discovery), reflecting their mission to make French books accessible worldwide.
In order to strengthen their work, Lireka partnered with Librairie Arthaud, a two-hundred-year-old independent bookstore in Grenoble. Through this collaboration, Lireka benefits from deep literary expertise as well as strong connections with publishers.

A New Resource for Our Community

Today, the Alliance Française de Berkeley is partnering with Lireka to make access to French books even easier for our students and members. In practice, books purchased on Lireka through the links available on our website generate a percentage of revenue that comes back to support the Alliance, a virtuous cycle that benefits everyone. When certain novels are studied in class, we will share affiliated links with you, should you wish to purchase them through this method. For more information on this French company, please visit here.

At the same time, we continue our great collaboration with our neighbor, the local bookstore European Books and Media. Its role in our community is essential, and all our method books for our group classes are still provided by this brick-and-mortar bookstore.