Nightstand

By Piper Castillo, Times Staff Writer
Published August 12, 2007

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Larry Austin, a 64-year-old insurance agent from Palm Harbor, won the Papa Hemingway Look-Alike Contest, held last month as part of the 27th annual Hemingway Days Festival in Key West. Austin's winnings included a bust of Hemingway and a $100 gift certificate to Sloppy Joe's Bar.

What's on your nightstand?

Die Trying by Lee Child. A friend of mine recommended it to me. I enjoy thrillers and reading novels that mention places I'm familiar with.

You mean you don't have any Hemingway on your nightstand?

Actually, I hate to say this, but I found him to be a tough read when I read him in school - almost anticlimactic. I read The Old Man and the Sea and For Whom the Bell Tolls. But, I do enjoy celebrating his life. I go down to Key West every July.

Piper Castillo is reachable at pcastillo@sptimes.com.