Assuming you're using him for stuff like Bommal and Eternal Dragon, no, I don't think his A2 or books are necessary. I think whatever value you get from trying to land more damage in the A1 via books is kinda meh. 

Yeah it just seems to me that every time he uses his  A2,  it  would be one less opportunity for him to increase TM  by  20%.

Correct. Turn off the A2.

Booking does have some *small* value, since it does add to his damage on his A1. But it's minimal. Still - epic books are candy. You should have a *ton* of them.