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Do you own all three copies? (i.e. did not borrow?)
Did you buy all three? some of them? receive as a present? inherit? find?
Do you need all three? Do you plan to give away some of them?
Do all three books have a value for you? for different reasons?
Are they souvenirs of some kind?
Do they have a handwritten dedication from the author?
Are you the author of the book? are the books presentation/inspection copies?

Did you intend to have this? Are the three copies in three different locations? Two? One? Is any copy relevantly moved from one location? Does the book contain story/ies? Facts? Lists? Are they phone books? WAG: do you want to read the book but not take it with you, so you have multiple copies in your various reading locations? Size of the book relevant? Thickness? Price? Number of pages?

Sundowner
Do you own all three copies? No, I own just one (i.e. did not borrow? No, two were borrowed)
Did you buy all three? some of them? I bought one receive as a present? inherit? find? No to rest, see above
Do you need all three? No Do you plan to give away some of them? Yes, explore
Do all three books have a value for you? Not beyond the usual value of a random book for different reasons? n/a
Are they souvenirs of some kind? No
Do they have a handwritten dedication from the author? No
Are you the author of the book? are the books presentation/inspection copies? No to both

GalFisk
Did you intend to have this? No Are the three copies in three different locations? Two? One? All in the same location Is any copy relevantly moved from one location? Two copies will be moved from their current location Does the book contain story/ies? This, it's a novel Facts? Lists? Are they phone books? No to rest WAG: do you want to read the book but not take it with you, so you have multiple copies in your various reading locations? No Size of the book relevant? Thickness? Price? Number of pages? No to all, they're just regular paperbacks

Did you borrow the two books from a library? from two different libraries?
Did you first borrow one copy? then the time came close to return it? and you realized you won't finish it by then? so you borrowed a second copy somewhere else?
Did you have the copy you own already before you borrowed the book? if yes: did you know about?
Did you buy the copy after borrowing the first copy? after borrowing the second copy?
Did you buy it for yourself? for someone else? as a present?

Did you borrow the two books from a library? I borrowed one from a library from two different libraries? n/a
Did you first borrow one copy? Yes then the time came close to return it? and you realized you won't finish it by then? so you borrowed a second copy somewhere else? But no to rest
Did you have the copy you own already before you borrowed the book? No if yes: did you know about?
Did you buy the copy after borrowing the first copy? after borrowing the second copy? This
Did you buy it for yourself? No for someone else? Yes as a present? No

Is copy 1 (the one you received earliest) borrowed from a library? Is the library book due soon? Now? Past due? Is the borrowed book which is not borrowed form a library, borrowed from a friend? Relative? Company? Club? Organization? Is the bought book a gift for someone? A replacement? Is any book damaged? Have you read the entire book yet? Did you enjoy it? Relevant? Has anyone else relevantly read it? Or will?

Is copy 1 (the one you received earliest) borrowed from a library? Yes Is the library book due soon? Now? Past due? No to all Is the borrowed book which is not borrowed form a library, borrowed from a friend? This Relative? Company? Club? Organization? Is the bought book a gift for someone? A replacement? This Is any book damaged? Yes, one book is damaged Have you read the entire book yet? Yes Did you enjoy it? Relevant? Yes but irrel Has anyone else relevantly read it? Or will? Irrel to both

Do you require all three copies? Two? Just one? Were one, two or all of them hard to find, and if so, relevant? Did you order the one you bought before receiving the ones you borrowed? Interlibrary loan relevant? Is it ultimately an accident that you have three? Deliberate? Is it a collection?

(I ordered a book thru interlibrary loan before discovering a free copy online, which I finished before receiving the library copy. I then purchased a different book after discovering that the library could not obtain it. Anything like these?

Do you require all three copies? Two? Just one? DOYD. I initially only required one, but I'd say I now require two Were one, two or all of them hard to find, and if so, relevant? No, they were relevantly easy to find Did you order the one you bought before receiving the ones you borrowed? No Interlibrary loan relevant? No Is it ultimately an accident that you have three? Deliberate? It was an accident-ish that I had two, but getting the third copy was deliberate Is it a collection? No

(I ordered a book thru interlibrary loan before discovering a free copy online, which I finished before receiving the library copy. I then purchased a different book after discovering that the library could not obtain it. Anything like these? Not really

So you borrowed book 1 from a library? Did you borrow book 2 from a friend after you received book 1 from the library? Is the damaged book book 1? 2? 3? Did the book get damaged before you got book 2? Book 3? Did you buy book 3 to replace the damaged book? Did you borrow book 2 because you needed 2 books? Did you buy book 3 because you needed 2 books, but only had one since the other was damaged? Did the book get damaged before you got it? When you got it? While you had it? By you? By another person? An animal? By accident? Is the nature of the damage relevant? Is it entirely or partially unreadable because of the damage? Is the damage visible form the outside? Are any of the books used as props at any relevant time?

Just to make sure I've got this straight:

B1: Library, damaged.
B2: Borrowed, undamaged.
B3: Bought, undamaged.

Correct?

Did your friend loan you a copy of the book without knowing that you had borrowed it from the library? Did they just happen to loan you the book when you already had a copy? Did you specifically ask your friend if you could borrow their copy? Do you intend to return your friend's book to the library, and return the purchased book to your friend? Does your friend have the same edition as the library copy? Were you unable to purchase the same edition yourself? So to fool the library, you had to borrow your friend's copy? Is it cheaper to replace the damaged book this way rather than going through whatever channels the library would normally go through?

GalFisk
So you borrowed book 1 from a library? Yes Did you borrow book 2 from a friend after you received book 1 from the library? Yes, but... Is the damaged book book 1? 2? This 3? Did the book get damaged before you got book 2? No Book 3? Yes Did you buy book 3 to replace the damaged book? Yes Did you borrow book 2 because you needed 2 books? No Did you buy book 3 because you needed 2 books, but only had one since the other was damaged? No Did the book get damaged before you got it? When you got it? While you had it? This By you? And this By another person? An animal? By accident? Yes Is the nature of the damage relevant? Somewhat, it's a bit of water damage Is it entirely or partially unreadable because of the damage? No, it's still readable Is the damage visible form the outside? Yes Are any of the books used as props at any relevant time? No

trebor
Just to make sure I've got this straight:

B1: Library, damaged. No, B1 is from the library but undamaged, see above
B2: Borrowed, undamaged. No, B2 is borrowed from a friend, but damaged
B3: Bought, undamaged. Yes

Correct? See above

Did your friend loan you a copy of the book without knowing that you had borrowed it from the library? Yes Did they just happen to loan you the book when you already had a copy? No Did you specifically ask your friend if you could borrow their copy? Yes Do you intend to return your friend's book to the library, No and return the purchased book to your friend? But yes Does your friend have the same edition as the library copy? Irrel Were you unable to purchase the same edition yourself? So to fool the library, you had to borrow your friend's copy? Is it cheaper to replace the damaged book this way rather than going through whatever channels the library would normally go through? No to all, as there is an underlying FA regarding which copy was damaged

So you asked a friend to borrow a copy of a book. Before you could actually receive this copy, you saw the same book in a library and checked it out? Then you received the book from your friend, and before you could tell him/her that you had found a copy at the library and give it back, it got some water spilled on it? so then you purchased a new copy to replace your friend's now damaged copy? Is this all correct?

Assuming this is all correct, is the relevant remaining bit why your friend's copy got water on it before you could give it back, even though you were likely not reading it (given that you already had a copy from the library)?

So you asked a friend to borrow a copy of a book. Before you could actually receive this copy, you saw the same book in a library and checked it out? Then you received the book from your friend, and before you could tell him/her that you had found a copy at the library and give it back, it got some water spilled on it? so then you purchased a new copy to replace your friend's now damaged copy? Is this all correct? All correct

Assuming this is all correct, is the relevant remaining bit why your friend's copy got water on it before you could give it back, even though you were likely not reading it (given that you already had a copy from the library)? Yes, and why I got a copy from the library even though my friend had already agreed to give me hers

Did you get the library book because you wanted to start reading earlier? Finish reading earlier? Put less wear on your friend's book? See if you enjoyed it before committing to borrowing your friend's book? Would your friend's book arrive to late for a desirable reading opportunity? Relevant why you wanted to read this book in the first place? Did you want to be able to talk to your friend about the book when you met to hand over the book? Did you meet? Relevant?

Were you in the library anyway? and saw the book there and just decided to grab it? did you want to read it on the way home from the library?
Was the other copy already damaged when you borrowed the one from the library?
Did it get damaged by rain? because your friend (or the postman) dropped it in front of your door and rain started before you returned home?
anyway: did the book get damaged outdoors? were you present when this happened? did you carry the book with you?

Is the library copy of the book a physical copy? An ebook?

Paperback vs hardcover relevant?

Does your friend live far away? Possibly out of country? Is the amount of time it would take to get the book from your friend relevant? Was your friend also reading the book? Did you want to read it at the same time? Did you want to be able to finish it at the same time, so you two could talk about it? Book clubs relevant?

GalFisk
Did you get the library book because you wanted to start reading earlier? Finish reading earlier? Put less wear on your friend's book? See if you enjoyed it before committing to borrowing your friend's book? No to all Would your friend's book arrive to late for a desirable reading opportunity? Yes, or at least I thought so Relevant why you wanted to read this book in the first place? Did you want to be able to talk to your friend about the book when you met to hand over the book? No to these Did you meet? Yes Relevant? Yes

Sundowner
Were you in the library anyway? No, I specifically went to the library to borrow a copy of the book and saw the book there and just decided to grab it? n/a did you want to read it on the way home from the library? No
Was the other copy already damaged when you borrowed the one from the library? No
Did it get damaged by rain? because your friend (or the postman) dropped it in front of your door and rain started before you returned home? No to all, but OTRT
anyway: did the book get damaged outdoors? No were you present when this happened? Yes did you carry the book with you? Not at the moment it got damaged

trebor
Is the library copy of the book a physical copy? This An ebook?

Paperback vs hardcover relevant? No, all three copies are paperbacks

Does your friend live far away? No Possibly out of country? No Is the amount of time it would take to get the book from your friend relevant? Yesish Was your friend also reading the book? Did you want to read it at the same time? Did you want to be able to finish it at the same time, so you two could talk about it? Book clubs relevant? No to rest

Is there another person in this puzzle? Is subterfuge involved?

Is there another person in this puzzle? Is subterfuge involved? No to both

So you went to the library specifically intending to get a copy of this book? even though you already knew that your friend had a copy? and was willing to lend it to you? (As opposed to the situation I was envisioning, where you just happened to come across the book at the library by accident while waiting for your friend's copy to arrive)

You also said that you didn't get the book from the library because you wanted to start reading earlier--but also that you thought that your friend's copy might arrive too late for some opportunity? So, was this "opportunity" not in the form of "I have time to read it now, but won't later", or "Then I can finish the book before X happens, and do something with that knowledge", but something else? Possibly you needed to leave for a trip, and wouldn't be able to read it later on the trip if you didn't already have it in your hands?

As for the water damage, was a drink spilled on it? was there a leak somewhere?

So you went to the library specifically intending to get a copy of this book? even though you already knew that your friend had a copy? and was willing to lend it to you? Correct (As opposed to the situation I was envisioning, where you just happened to come across the book at the library by accident while waiting for your friend's copy to arrive)

You also said that you didn't get the book from the library because you wanted to start reading earlier--but also that you thought that your friend's copy might arrive too late for some opportunity? So, was this "opportunity" not in the form of "I have time to read it now, but won't later", or "Then I can finish the book before X happens, and do something with that knowledge", but something else? Yes Possibly you needed to leave for a trip, and wouldn't be able to read it later on the trip if you didn't already have it in your hands? Spot on!

As for the water damage, was a drink spilled on it? was there a leak somewhere? Yes to both

********SPOILER********
I wanted to read a specific book on a trip. I knew a friend of mine had read it, so I asked her if I could borrow her copy. She agreed and promised to bring the book to lacrosse practice. The day before the trip, she texted me that she probably wouldn't be at practice that night, so I went to the library to check out a copy. My friend ended up coming to practice after all and slipped her book into my backpack without me noticing. However, my water bottle had been leaking, so the book got some water damage. I bought a new copy of the book to replace hers, which is how I ended up with three copies of the same book.

Thanks for playing, everyone, and nice solve, Biograd!