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AITA for replacing a borrowed book with a new copy after I damaged my friend's annotated one?

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I put the new paperback on my friend Zoe's table. She opened it and said, "Where are my notes?"

I'd borrowed her copy of a novel for a holiday. She asked me to be careful with it. I took it to the beach, put it in a bag with a wet towel, and came home with warped pages and sand in the spine.

I bought a new copy of the same novel before returning it. I thought showing up with the replacement would be better than giving her a damaged book and a promise. I also brought the old one, wrapped separately.

Zoe hadn't lent me a blank copy. There were notes throughout it from a course she'd taken, including things she still referred to. I'd seen them while reading, but when replacing the book I focused on the title and cover.

She says I decided what would count as fixing the damage without asking her. I said the words of the novel were all there, and that sounded dismissive as soon as I heard it.

She isn't demanding an expensive edition. She wants me to stop treating her annotated book as though it was just a worn-out version of the shop copy. I don't know what repair I can honestly offer that would restore the notes to the book she had. AITA for bringing the replacement first?

Discussion

2 community replies

Buying a replacement was a reasonable attempt to take responsibility. Presenting it as the solution overlooked what you already knew was distinctive about her copy. The sentence about the novel's words made that oversight much more explicit.

Bringing the damaged original back mattered. You didn't discard the notes, and Zoe can decide what she wants to do with that copy. Don't assume the new book means the old one has become yours to keep or throw away.

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