I've been playing on the 1.9 snapshots for several months now, and I've discovered some useful tips that have helped me use mending more effectively. Here they are:

1. The best way to get mending is to get a librarian villager that sells it for a cheap price. I have a villager that trades it for only 12 emeralds, and with a large sugar cane farm or another cheap source of emeralds, it's easy to get a double chest full of mending books. Based on experience, I have found that it's actually fairly common to find librarians that trade it. And it's often pretty cheap because it's technically a level 1 enchant. If you can't get villagers for whatever reason, the second best option is probably to use an enchanted fishing rod. I would discourage anyone from trying to get the treasure enchants by looking for temples/dungeons because this isn't nearly as effective and your world size will increase by a lot of you generate a ton of new chunks.

2. In order to repair a tool with mending as fast as possible, it needs to be the only thing with mending That you are holding/wearing. If you are wearing armor with mending, even if the armor is at full durability, it will decrease the rate at which the tool you're holding gets repaired. This is because when you get exp the game randomly selects a mending item you have equipped to repair. If the selected item is already fully repaired, the exp will go to your experience bar even if you are wearing/ holding another item with mending. thus, the quickest way to repair a mending item is to unequip all your other mending gear.

3. It is possible to go strip mining indefinitely using a mending pickaxe, but only if the pickaxe doesn't have silk touch and you're wearing non-mending armor

4. I recommend keeping a few copies of your favorite tools with mending at your base. that way, when one wears out you can replace it with a brand new one. When they're all worn out, you can go to your exp farm and repair them all at once.

I don't know about you guys, but with all of these structures and dimensions in the game, it leaves me with many questions regarding why and how and I feel like something that would add a LOT to the game would be things that give background information or just exposition to certain places and things in the game. I don't know what mojang would add if they did do a lore update, but if they did, I would be INCREDIBLY excited about it. Minecraft is a game that I love playing and I love the creativity and freedom it gives you, but as I build my kingdoms, I wonder why I'm the only big kingdom or why I'm the only of my kind. I understand the problems with adding real lore, but I feel there would be more benefits as far as keeping interest and other things than problems, the problem being that it could take away some of the creativity or freedom that I love the game for so much, but while I enjoy being able to shape my world's story exactly as I want it, I also want to see others' stories and why many things are the way they are like the End or villages. This update could bring back players who've lost interest or bring new ones in because lore or story, per say peeks their interest. Whether or not my suggestion is taken seriously, I look forward to 1.9's final release and whatever is in store for the next! Thanks!