From my experience most teachers are very tolerant of books -- they look like work to most people, apparently.
I was amazed in HS when the library used us first year students to catalog their collection that during study time I could simply grab a box of books and work my way through the pulpiest science fiction paperbacks available without anybody commenting that maybe I should be working on my homework instead, as long as I handed back a few catalog cards at the end of the hour...
I can see origami being distracting (too visible). If the teacher objects to doodling I think there is a paper out there showing its positive effect on memory retention for academic lectures.
