Don't believe in no-win scenarios

"What are all these books?" Gale asks from behind and over Jim's shoulder. He wasn't particularly involved (his own carrying capacity is... not the best), but he is inevitably drawn to books like a moth to flame. "I know you didn't find all those in here, most of what we've come across has been rotted." Which he knows because he has made a mad dash for every visible tome, only for most of them to crumble between his fingers. No way has Jim beaten him to that many books, and without his notice.