About Us

Cavalier House Books is an independently owned general interest bookstore and book fair provider in Denham Springs, LA. We offer a variety of new and used titles as well as other services, such as educator discounts, community events, bulk orders, and book trades. The store is owned and run by John and Michelle Cavalier, helped by their employees, Katherine Downey, Sophie Giroir, and Matthieu McIntosh.
 
Cavalier House Books began in August of 2005 as a way to help local schools acquire the books they needed after the loss of Book Warehouse of Baton Rouge, which had been a local institution for over twenty years. John and Michelle conducted business through their home as they scouted a location for their first brick and mortar store. In June of 2009, they found the perfect venue in the form of a shop located in the historic downtown area of Denham Springs, LA. Cavalier House Books opened its doors on September 5, 2009. Since then, CHB has integrated itself into the community through events and social gatherings and hopes to continue to grow with this great community. John and Michelle began the book fair side of the business in November of 2010 with the hope of bringing their passion for books into schools and helping to instill a love of reading in students. CHB is now the book fair provider for over 25 schools in the greater Baton Rouge area, with that number growing every year as we continue to expand our services and selection.
 
At Cavalier House Books, we want to be more than mere vendors of books as we seek to imbue literature and reading further into our customers' lives. As booksellers, we possess a passion and enthusiasm for literature that we aim to share with all who walk through our doors. We intend to respect books as purveyors of ideas rather than simple commodities. We wish to be more than a cookie cutter bookstore and to become a hub of free expression and discussion. We hope to embody the spirit of independent commerce and independent thinking and to help mold and participate in the community which surrounds us.
 
Cavalier House Books is here to serve the community, and we look forward to doing all that we can to help you! Learn more about Cavalier House Books by clicking the links below!

About John: John is co-owner of Cavalier House Books with his wife Michelle. He handles book fairs and the business side of things, and he has a hand in just about everything that goes on at the store. John is a fan of George Orwell and Ray Kurzweil. He’d rather read a book about the science of sound than a New York Times bestselling novel and he generally prefers his books steeped in fact and very dry. He starts way more books than he finishes but tends to overly enjoy every book he reads.

About Michelle: Michelle is co-owner of Cavalier House Books with her husband, John, and she is also the buyer for the store. Michelle is a reader of books and petter of cats who counts among her favorite authors Kurt Vonnegut, John Irving, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. She hates Hemingway, loves Bukowski, and generally prefers a book in which bad things happen. Ironically, she also enjoys children's books and middle grade literature.

About Matthieu: Matthieu has been a bookseller at Cavalier House since October 2016 and is usually reading something from Japan or Norway. His other role at Cavalier House is website coordinator. If he had a cathedral dedicated to his favorite authors, Karl Ove Knausgaard, John Steinbeck, and Haruki Murakami might be featured on the stained glass windows. Additionally, he knows way too much about authors he's never read.