Louisiana’s lieutenant governor is a well-known book lover and proponent of the Louisiana Book Festival, which is taking place this weekend in downtown Baton Rouge. For the October issue of 225, the magazine sat down with Jay Dardenne to talk about the festival and some of his favorite books. The event is in its 11th year, but before Dardenne was elected, the book festival was canceled.
“I said in my campaign that we would find a way to bring it back,” he says. “We’re committed to keeping the festival alive.”
This year’s event will bring writer Rick Bragg to the Capital City to discuss his latest book, Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Words, and that discussion is one that Dardenne is looking forward to seeing. The lieutenant governor is also a big fan of John Grisham and James Lee Burke.
“There are beautiful descriptions of Louisiana in the Dave Robicheaux books,” he says. “They capture the essence of the landscape.”
Perhaps the most inspiring book in Dardenne’s library, however, is The Drive Within Me by former LSU and NBA basketball star Bob Pettit.
“I was cut from the basketball team in junior high, and Bob Pettit was cut from the team at Baton Rouge High,” he says. “His book inspired me when I was young, and I made the team again.” Read the full story.
