The paper wouldn't be the same. As I said to cabepfir, I view them as a kind of spirit-fetish, requiring the actual object. Though I hope she was getting damaged/discarded copies from libraries or at least buying used ones. In the end it is just a lot of paper, unless it's a personal copy with meaning to you. You might be shocked at how many books libraries regularly weed and throw away! Well, we nominally "recycle" them here, but TBH I'm not sure exactly what their fate is, whether they go to some kind of pulp dealer or something. Still, we're in the middle of a big weeding project at my library and I've discarded over 1600 books since July 1st alone. I think it's somewhat like working in the meat industry - I've simultaneously gotten more appreciative of books in some ways and desensitized to them in others.