Paper

Paper was added to Alpha in the Seecret Friday 6 (v1.0.11) patch, and is used the same way in Beta. Paper can be crafted from Sugar Cane. Paper is currently (as of Beta 1.6) used to make books which are used to craft bookshelves for decoration, and to make maps. Adding functionality to books in the form of writing them, similarly to signs, remains a popular request, however. Several mods exist to serve this.

Trivia

 * In real life paper is not made from sugar cane. In ancient times it was made from the papyrus plant. Currently it is produced from wood pulp.
 * It is unclear whether sugar cane will remain the required material to create paper or if Notch will introduce or change this requirement.