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Well, one can damage a hardcover by not opening it properly the first time:

https://www.reddit.com/r/lifehacks/comments/7sry7v/open_a_ha...

(which was a lesson in 2nd grade, when we got our first-ever hardcover textbooks)

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Wow. I’m almost 40 and never knew this!
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Yeah, really, Barnes & Noble marketing is missing a beat by not printing that as a bookmark to include with new book sales after asking the question at the register, "Has the person you are buying this hardcover for ever opened a new book correctly?"

Oblig. XKCD:

https://xkcd.com/1053/

(which I kind of wish was comic #1,000 so it was easy to remember/link)

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When I was in grade school in the 60s (I'm old) they showed us this film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHe2hx1JL7U

For some reason, the lessons learned stuck with me.

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Fire is pretty effective too, in my experience.
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Floods are pretty bad for them too. I have some books drying now, some paper is really bad about getting wet while others are okay.
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they're not exactly thrilled by termites either. lost a lot of my grandparents' books to that.
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