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)

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.

Wow. I’m almost 40 and never knew this!

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)

A better solution would be for them to just pre-open the books so you don't need complex rituals to read them.