Fewer Americans are reading for pleasure, study finds
Avid readers know the excitement that comes from taking a good book to bed and getting so involved you can’t put it down — “just one more chapter.” I recently learned …
By BILL CASTANIER's Latest Articles
Public Art of the Week
Shigematsu Memorial Garden Public art is a shapeshifter that can take many forms, including elegant garden plantings and ponds. One of the Lansing area’s most distinguished and sublime …
Lansing Lit encourages reading in a book-burning climate
A recent federal study called The Nation’s Report Card found reading and math scores for K-12 students have reached an all-time low. Many experts blame the growth of smartphones as a …
Bryan Gruley mixes love of hockey into newest novel
Bryan Gruley is a writer’s writer. He had a successful career as a journalist, starting at small-town newspapers before jumping to The Wall Street Journal, where he shared a Pulitzer Prize for …
Public art: Once vandalism, now visionary
Public art can be traced to ancient times, but it has evolved into its own art form, beginning in the 1960s on the streets of New York City and the underground subway lines traversing the city. …
Cooley Law School hides major collection of rock, blues art
Over the years, I’ve come across some major collectors of rock ‘n’ roll posters and art. Most of them store their collections without frames in large, flat drawers or just rolled up …
Collections manager and trivia buff takes interim leadership of ELPL
Professional librarians must bring a wide range of skills to their jobs. However, Chrissie Evaskis-Garrett, the new interim director of the East Lansing Public Library, brings a whole new dimension …
Public Art of the Week
For more than a half century, students, faculty and staff have found the quiet pond hidden behind the Student Services Building at Michigan State University a place to go for solitude. When I worked …
100 years in, ‘Gatsby’ still ranks high in American fiction
Who turned the green light off? To depress us teenagers even more, my high school English class had us read “The Great Gatsby” and “The Catcher in the Rye” back to back …
What’s in a door? A local photographer’s new book shows you
From the gothic, elegant Duke University Chapel entryway to the Coney Island Scream Zone gate, Mason author and photographer Jeffry S. Boerger shows us the door(s) in his new photographic book. …