1.3 is going to add a tonload of new stuff. It's all very epic looking. What will you do first?
Write a book? Go to a village and start haggling? Plant those cocoa beans you found in a dungeon 4 weeks ago? Maybe they'll fix mob glitching with the update. I hope they do, because I'm the farmer on the server where I do my Let's Play. Maybe you'll get an enchantment with the new, discounted enchantment system. Then, you can go looking for emerald ore with your Silk Touch pickaxe! That new Ender Chest doesn't look bad, either.

In any event, you should hoard books before the update. They'll need a leather to be made with the update.
I'm going to build a village somewhere on my server and artificially populate it. Everyone will go there to shop.
Emeralds = Rupees.

I still think there should be redstone and coal blocks.