In Quarto

The Wings of Youth
On the transient nature of the Saturday staff and a question of identity.
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Stock in Trade
On stocking a secondhand bookshop and the triumph of hope over experience.
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The Prince and the Bear
On the aftermath of the World Trade Centre attack, the arrival of Prince William in St Andrews, and the approved method of surviving an encounter with a bear.
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Shelves and Letterboxes
On the problems inherent in rearranging a shop's shelves, and the troubles caused by European-standard letterboxes.
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Grandad Biggles?
On the difficulty of interviewing new staff, and the tendency of a pub quiz to reveal the embarrassing gaps in your knowledge.
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Saint Andrews and Quatro Errata
On an ambitious builder, a rude American and the inability of certain authors to check their facts.
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The Changing of the Seasons
September is a busy month at the Quarto. It's out with the golfing journals - as the last Member swings his last club of the year - and in with the text books - as St. Andrews students return from their holidays to a new university term. Oh, and new life springs forth as well.
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Bins and Things
Why do we pay the council money for bin rental? Only to have them put roadworks immediately outside our favourite shops, barring entry? And what on earth do you put on the blurb of the first edition of a book, given it hasn't actually been reviewed yet?
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Google Google Gone
In her final column, MARGARET SQUIRES identifies the factors that have combined to cause the downturn in the secondhand book trade, which has resulted in the closure of hundreds of shops around the country in the last two years. The latest fatality, after thirty-seven years, is the Quarto, St Andrews.
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