Why does nobody talk about buying duplicate copies on purpose

I grabbed a second copy of my favorite field guide at a garage sale in Denver for $3, not because I lost the first one, but so I can loan it out without worrying about getting it back. It protects my original and lets me share the hobby without holding my breath. Anyone else keep backup copies of books they actually care about, or am I the odd one?

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oscarthompson17d ago

That field guide" makes it sound like a survival manual, but I'm pretty sure you're just trying to justify hoarding. I've got three copies of a book on knots. Not because I love knots, but because the first one fell apart, the second one got borrowed by a guy who moved to Montana, and the third one is my "don't touch" copy. It's not about protecting the original. It's about being able to hand someone a book and say "keep it" without your eye twitching for the next six months. So no, you're not the odd one. You're just a librarian with a garage sale habit.