"Maybe if we were back in civilization. But that's the thing about being stuck with the barter system in what basically amounts to hunter-gatherer times." Oh god she's in talking mode. "Books are a luxury, and more than that, these books are the books of a scholar, not even the kind most people would read for fun. Except me."

She starts separating out their stuff into three separate piles. "What's going to be useful are things that help survival, assuming the other party doesn't have it already, and then after that things that will make life easier."

So the piles end up looking like this:
Pile one: Bedroll, flint and steel, waterskin, a single potato.
Pile two: Needle and string, cloth, rope, knife, cooking pot.
Pile three: Books, ink, quills.

She gestures, arms spread out. "Isette's Hierarchy of Bartering Usefulness."