Mission

Established in 1975, Appletree Books is an independent bookstore located in the Cedar Fairmount neighborhood of Cleveland Heights (just up the hill from Cleveland’s University Circle), Appletree Books offers an eclectic, well-curated selection of new book titles in multiple genres for both children and adults. 

We seek to offer books that transport readers to other places, both visually and verbally and aim to introduce beautifully illustrated and interesting books to our customers. 

Discover greeting cards, journals, letterpress cards, and notecards in addition to puzzles, bookends, candles, and small gift items in an intimate, warm space in the historic Heights Center building. 

PARTNERS

We are proud to actively collaborate and support our community, and call these institutions and organizations our partners.

ARTS & CULTURE

 

SCHOOLS

PRODUCT LINES

We are pleased to carry the following from local and national gift and paper goods designers.

NATIONAL 

LOCAL 

Publishers

What sets Appletree Books apart is that we maintain accounts with publishers and purchase from them directly, as opposed to ordering primarily from Ingram, the nation’s largest book wholesaler. In addition, Appletree Books sells only new books, not previously owned titles. 

PUBLISHERS 

Community

Book Groups

Our Books In A Bar book group is currently on vacation! We are currently evaluating ideas for our next selection of books, location options, and times for our group to meet.  Look for more information on our plans in January! If you have any ideas for a book to read and discuss, can you call us at 216-791-2665, or send an email to info@appletree-books.com with your ideas!

Learn More

Community

Educators

We offer a 20% educator discount on books and other materials purchased in the store that are used in your classes. Just present your valid educator’s ID at the time of purchase!

Customer Reviews

Adam Howe
Adam Howe
2021-12-19
Great local bookstore. Employees are always helpful and if they don't have the book you are looking for they will order it.
margaret bevel-jeter
margaret bevel-jeter
2021-05-19
I love the knowledgeable staff. The kind of place one could spend hours in browsing and reading
Eric Henry
Eric Henry
2021-04-26
Appletree Books is an almost iconic independent bookstore. The selection of books is just right, the staff is both knowledgeable and friendly, and their responsiveness to orders and questions is fast and personal. I'm especially fond of Michael, whose literary tastes heavily overlap with my own, and Lynn (the owner), who runs a great community-oriented business and has also recommended only great reads to me. It's the Cheers of bookshops, and it's great, as a dedicated and eclectic reader, to go "where everybody knows your name."
Joseph Telatnik
Joseph Telatnik
2021-04-16
What a treasure! The staff is knowledgeable, friendly and heppful. So many books and other little surprises. The un-Amazon
Terence Gutgsell
Terence Gutgsell
2020-12-17
The selection is very good for a smallish bookstore, but what sets it apart are the folks who work there. They are consistently helpful and kind. It doesn’t hurt that they greet you with smiles. A little gem on Cedar-Fairmount!
Lauren Dierker
Lauren Dierker
2020-07-07
Appletree is an absolutely wonderful neighborhood bookstore! The staff has always been so kind and helpful, and is now even more so during the pandemic. The "Book Guru" was incredibly helpful getting me a book even though I couldn't browse, and the store's precautions (masks, hand sanitizer, limited guests, plexiglass wall) made it feel like a very safe experience.
Google rating score: 4.6 of 5, based on 48 reviews

Staff

Lynn Quintrell

Lynn purchased Appletree Books in 2014 and has been on the entrepreneurial journey ever since. Raised in New Jersey, she married a Cleveland native and has enjoyed living in Cleveland for over 30 years. She has also managed to rope her spouse into providing accounting and technology support for the store. Lynn enjoys historical fiction, contemporary fiction and beautiful interior design and garden books.

Michael Wells

Michael has loved books since birth and has been with Appletree Books for over five years. His friends bemoan his library, but he loves every page in it.  He is particularly drawn to classics (loosely defined), history and mystery.  Note that in his library he has both Faulkner and History and Faulkner and Mystery, but his favorite book is Stoner by John Williams.

Holly Scott

Born and raised in the Cleveland area, Holly has spent the majority of her working life involved in education. She and her husband, also a retired teacher, have three children  who with their families love to explore the outdoors, spend time in Maine and read.  With Appletree Books for about a year, Holly enjoys multiple genres and authors from Kevin Henkes and Jan Brett to Paulette Jiles and Richard Russo

Lorie Novak

A happy grandmother from Garfield Heights, Lorie has been with Appletree Books for over four years.  She brings extensive retail and customer service experience, and she enjoys reading books from multiple genres, be they mystery, fantasy, historical fiction or translated, international fiction.

Ed Alix

Ed has been with Appletree Books for over ten years; he is our delivery person “extraordinaire” as well as our off-site event sales manager.  With many professional years spent in the East Cleveland school district, Ed harkens from Connecticut originally but considers Cleveland home after 40 plus years.

Kristen Fistek

A mother of three, Kristen is an avid reader of multiple genres.  Although her professional background is in counseling, Kristen was an English major in college, and by working at Appletree Books, she is able to share her literature knowledge and enthusiasm with other readers.

Tessa Hartman

Tessa graduated from Cleveland State University where she studied film production and scrptwriting. For as long as she’s loved movies, she has also loved books. When it comes to genre, Tessa isn’t picky and can always get lost in a good story.

Careers

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We are always on the lookout for talented individuals to join our team. Please complete the form below to submit your cover letter and resume.

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