Reference books are the one thing it's a good idea to spend money on, because flipping back and forth through a digital copy is still a miserable experience
A foldable reader with readable panels on each sides when you open it. You can flip pages either way. Pen for annotation if possible. Create/edit your own documents. An icon tap to overlay another document (a note, book page, research paper) so you can add to it or copy from it to the underlying panel.
A reader mode (distraction free) when simply reading. A document mode when you are doing something that requires writing (including simple annotations).
I like books and flipping through them. However if you can blend a book reader with a great note taker that would be ideal.