I get permission for the books that are lying around, too. Can't loot the desks, mind you...
They seem to have set up script triggers on picking up items - including notes and books - rather than making reading a document a separate event. If you could read it without taking possession, a lot of quest event triggers wouldn't fire they way they've done it. I'm going to guess that reading without picking up will not be easily moddable.
I've been wrong before, to be sure.
