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Probably the best treatment of work and energy of any introductory
textbook is Chabay and Sherwood's Matter & Interactions. The following
analysis is based on that book.
You asked "If I place a coffee cup on a sheet of paper and pull on the
paper gently enough to accelerate the coffee cup without it slipping on
the paper, has the force of static friction done work on the coffee
cup?"
The answer is indeed "no" because the work done by the paper on the
coffee cup is
W_paper = F_paper dot
displacement_through_which_the_force_of_the_paper_on_the_cup_acts
Since the force of the paper on the cup does not act through any
displacement, then the work done by the paper on the cup is zero.