I'm loving this new update. Mojang completely reworked enchanting for the better. It now only costs 3 levels and 3 lapis lazuli to get the maximum level 30 enchantment (you have to be at level 30+ in order to get that enchantment though).
The Anvil can now repair and combine items it previously could not. I had 2 diamond picks, one with Efficiency IV and Unbreaking III, the other had Efficiency IV and Fortune III. In 1.7.10 it was impossible to combine these 2 pickaxes due to their rare enchantments. In 1.8 I can now combine these for a new pick that has Efficiency V, Unbreaking III, and Fortune III. It also costs considerably less Experience to combine tools than it used to.
Another small thing I noticed is that my tamed wolves' collars changed from red to orange. I'm playing on a Realm so I'm thinking the color change is to differentiate between players' tamed wolves.
Everyone can read up on the rest of the update at the following link. Mojang has added some cool stuff for us to play around with!
https://mojang.com/2014/08/minecraft-1-8-pre-release-the-bountiful-update/