On the books studying, starting off (7)

I believe the answer is:

earning

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'on the books studying starting off' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'studying starting off' is the wordplay.
'studying' becomes 'learning' (learning is a kind of studying).
'starting off' means to remove the first letter (the starting letter is removed).
'learning' with its first letter taken away is 'EARNING'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for earning that I've seen before include "Gaining by working" , "Deserving" , "Making money" , "Realising" , "Meriting" .)

I've seen this clue in the Irish Times.

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