I think the author does have a point though it clearly doesn't apply to everyone. 'Elitist BS' is rather strong. You take a different view but perhaps you've never studied in a part of the world where books are in short supply and one expensive copy is shared. I underlined passages in books in the past and now regret imposing my then partial view via permanent marking. Just a thought but a cataclysmic extinction event on Earth might well either destroy most electronic media or put it beyond general access. Surviving physical books might then become generally sacred once more as they are in many people's present day collections. We're rather too ready to think that the current ease with which we can check out almost any topic will be forever a permanent fixture. There are days when I doubt it.