Like Blue Store fried chicken or Tony’s Seafood, Cottonwood Books is one of Baton Rouge’s iconic local treasures; if you’ve experienced it, you love it. If you’ve never been, you should take the opportunity to form your own love affair with Cottonwood because it will soon shut its doors permanently.
Cottonwood Books is the last independent bookstore in Baton Rouge. A mainstay of the Perkins Overpass District, it celebrated its 35th anniversary last year. In a space about the size of the Coates Hall auditorium — if not slightly smaller — there are thousands of books nestled on shelves that nearly reach the ceiling, with books stacked on the floors of the aisles between them.
At the front of the store, among the vast collection for sale, you’ll find its owner: Danny Plaisance. Plaisance knows the store like the back of his hand and can tell you if he has what you’re looking for without even leaving the counter. If you’re looking for a particular topic, he’ll walk you to it.
Last year, Plaisance sought to sell Cottonwood after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease; however, earlier this month, he told The Advocate that the store would shut down because of difficulties finding a buyer. Now, the goal is to sell as much inventory as possible before the store closes.
Cottonwood is only open on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., but, as part of the store’s retirement sale, all books are 30% off. As the weeks pass, Cottonwood’s bookshelves, which previously looked as if its contents were overflowing, grow emptier. Still, there are plenty of books for sale, but time is running out to find a unique book that piques your interest.
There are entire rows full of literary classics, biographies and fiction. Scattered throughout the store, there are plenty of books and magazines that you might not find anywhere else, like those published by university presses. Unlike any large bookstore, you can also find an entire aisle dedicated to everything Louisiana.
Out of all the books I purchased at Cottonwood over the years, 12 of them are about the Long family, from Huey to Russell, and 16 more focus on everything else Louisiana, from the corruption to the coastline. A handful are signed—some by authors, but others by their subjects. Every penny spent was well worth it, and the books themselves are much more valuable than the price penciled on the inside.
There’s nowhere quite like Cottonwood to find a title you’ve never heard of—or something signed by someone you have heard of—without breaking the bank or getting bored.
Even if you don’t like reading—or have better impulse control than me—it’s worth going to Cottonwood just for the experience. Time flies scanning shelves and thumbing through pages. Wandering the aisles and skimming each section feels like a scene out of Hollywood. It’s not unlike Monsieur Labisse’s shop in “Hugo” or Diagon Alley in “Harry Potter.”
You can even follow in the footsteps of Tom Hanks—not by reenacting “You’ve Got Mail,” but by literally walking in the same store he visited while shooting a movie in 2018.
If you can’t visit Cottonwood before it closes, there is a glimmer of hope. A group of locals wants to form a nonprofit to keep the bookstore running, but the idea is in its infancy according to the Baton Rouge Business Report. Still, if you have the opportunity, take it as soon as you can.
Cottonwood is well worth the visit, and, once you see it for yourself, you’ll also feel a sense of grief at the thought that it might be gone forever.
Drake Brignac is a 21-year-old political communication and political science senior from Baton Rouge.