Ereaders - a tool to use while traveling

Jonathan Rees writes a post "When your books aren't really yours" (http://moreorlessbunk.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/when-your-books-arent-really-yours/). He says he has decided to take an extra backpack filled with print books rather than succumb purchasing an ereader. He plans on abandoning the print books in Korea rather than drag them back home. So is print precious or not? I suppose someone else might get use out of the copies he leaves behind, but otherwise, he's simply discarding books. He mentions a print book he owns that contains his dad's marginalia. I presume he wasn't going to take that book on the trip. I'm don't get it. Why not learn to use an ereader - a great tool to use while on a trip? It can be the right gadget for that purpose. Leave those print books at home where weight and bulk don't matter.