As much as I understand "being" stresses the action and not the result. So does that mean that:
- in sentence 1 the person might not have got the book in his possession
while
- sentence 2 conveys the end result of having the book?
- What book was being given to you?
- What book was given to you?
And in these examples:
- Were you being told that or did you make that up?
- Were you told that or did you make that up?