Davy Rothbart used to collect notes dropped on the school bus.

He would pick up and keep pictures or letters left on the street.

“It was trash, really,” he said.

But years later, Rothbart has made a career of his love of peeking into people’s lives through the letters, notes and photos they’ve lost or tossed.

Three years ago, Rothbart and friend Jason Bitner created Found Magazine, an annual publication that features the items people find lying around.

Call it voyeuristic. Call it strange. But the magazine has resonated with people. So much so that Rothbart, who lives in Michigan, receives 10 to 15 new finds by mail daily from people around the country. People also send their finds by e-mail.

Rothbart and his brother Peter are now touring all 50 states, reading and singing about some of their favorite finds.

They’ll be in Lawrence at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 22 at the Hawk’s Nest in the Kansas Union at Kansas University.

“It’s been a lot of fun so far,” Rothbart said of the tour. “Every night, there’s something surprising or hilarious or heartbreaking. No matter where you go, every place seems fertile territory for found stuff. We invite people up to share their finds. It’s sort of like a show-and-tell for grown-ups.”

While he’s on the road, Rothbart said, the Found Magazine mail goes to his parents’ house. Some of the finds will go on the Web site, www.foundmagazine.com, while a small percentage go into the magazine.

Rothbart said that one of his favorite finds was an algebra test where the student taking it didn’t know the answers.

“It’s pretty clear the kid didn’t know, so he had some fun with it,” Rothbart said.

“He graphed a smiley face and wrote a whole series of rhymes and couplets. And you can tell by the grading that the teacher doesn’t take well to it.”