Get your bookmarks ready: This month, Cleveland Magazine celebrates the written word, exploring a world of books just in time for summer reading season.
In the July "Reading Cleveland" cover feature, we celebrate the iconic books of Northeast Ohio and the authors behind them. Plus, we look at the region's history, development, businesses and organizations that put Cleveland on the literary map.
Whether you're seeking a recommendation for a breezy beach read, a welcoming book club or a digital library lending app, you're in the right place.
The 81 Essential Cleveland Novels
These stories may be fiction, but they are all set in the real place of Northeast Ohio. Read a variety of genres, published from the 1800s to 2025, that use our home as their home. In our guide, you'll find a thriller series from Stephen King, a bestselling novel from Celeste Ng, a new romance novel from Layne Fargo and many more.
With Libby, Kanopy and Sora, Cleveland’s OverDrive Captures New Generations of Readers
From legal document floppy disks to the hugely popular Libby reading app, locally headquartered OverDrive has become a literary tech giant — and defined digital library lending for thousands of organizations around the world.
Toni Morrison’s Literary Legacy Lives On in Northeast Ohio
The Lorain native is honored in various spaces across the region for her greater contributions to literature. That includes a reading room in the Lorain Public Library, where Morrison worked her first job as a shelver.
Cleveland Public Library’s Main Library Is a Place of Firsts
The impressive Downtown building has educated and welcomed Clevelanders for a full century, offering insights into local history, architecture and literature. Now 100 years old, it has a new historical marker, events and a library gift shop to celebrate the milestone.
8 Northeast Ohio Book Clubs To Check Out
Meet up at bookstores, pubs, libraries and more at these Greater Cleveland book clubs. No matter your pace or genre, there's a welcoming group ready to turn the page with you.
From the Rust Belt to the Bookshelf: How Two Cleveland Presses Champion Local Authors
Both Gray & Company and Kent State University Press have built businesses on producing work for Northeast Ohio-based readers.
3 Cleveland-Based Book Influencers to Recommend Your Next Read
As BookTok and Bookstragram continue to guide the literary scene, Zoranne Host, Nahomy Ortiz-Garcia and Mikey Feinman have the best recommendations to help you stock your bookshelf and max out your library card.
Author Les Roberts Retired Cleveland Detective Milan Jacovich, But He Keeps Writing
The 87-year-old author of the popular Cleveland-based Milan Jacovich private detective novel series opens up about his career path, life in Northeast Ohio and upcoming work.
Shop Cleveland's Best Independent Bookstores
Skip the big box stores and head to Mac's Backs, Clevo Books and other Cleveland bookstores to pick up a novel or two.
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