Do you have multiple copies of any of your books?
If so, why? Absent-mindedness? You love them that much? First Editions for the shelf, but paperbacks to read?
If not, why not? Not enough space? Not enough money? Too sensible to do something so foolish?
I do have multiple copies of the same book. I have a Jane Austen compilation with all her novels. Then I have (possibly many) copies of the individual novels. Because the print in that compilation? Pretty tiny.
I have three copies of Anna Karenina. One was from a survey of Russian Lit in college. One was from the Tolstoy class I took senior year–this copy is in Russian, then I have the recent release of it, the “Oprah” version that was a gift.
Gift receiving is also the reason I have two copies of The Lovely Bones, which, slacker that I am, I haven’t read.
I also have a couple copies of War and Peace. I have Pushkin’s works in English and Russian (sensing a trend here), oh, and I also have A Hero of Our Time by Lermontov in English and Russian.
Some of these are from college. I never sold back any of my Russian fiction. Some of them are from the trip I took to Russia in November 1991.
Writing Wrongs 
I always buy 2 copies of the Harry Potter books so I can burn one to make the in-laws happy.
We have so many books we forget what we have, and my husband in particular is constantly buying new editions of old science fiction books he finds months later down in the basement. We have duplicate technical books, duplicate mysteries, somehow we even managed to have the same college German textbook.
I’m certain that there are at least three copies of Goodnight, Moon still lurking in the basement. And I love every one of them.
For a while, I had nearly half a dozen copies of Tender at the Bone; I kept lending it out to people and then I’d forget who had it, so I’d HAVE to buy another copy for myself, and then eventually somebody would return theirs. Shocking, I know. I think I’m down to just one, though, for now.
Clearly, we need a 12-Step program to get over this affliction.
I have multiple copies of some things, because I wanted to read them, and didn’t know where they were.
I have a couple of cooking references which are in multiples; mostly because I forgot I had them, and they were remaindered/bargain.
I also have one which I possess multiple copies of, because McGee wrote a new edition. Technically, I suppose, that’s not really multiple copies.
I have multiple Austens, too – from teaching and reading and a couple of multiple Russians from college/high school. Do you really have two of anything Lermontov? I’m not a fan of his, despite his getting me on a field trip with my Soviet students… long story there!
Jen, it’s the Pushkin I have two of (I think). For good old Lermontov, it’s just Hero.
You remind me that a friend still owes me a copy of the Nabokov side-by-side of Эвгени Онегин.
It’s only been 14 years since he said he was getting it for me.
I love Pushkin.