I have been buying books and music for many decades, and my collections of both are fairly important to me. Periodically I have culled both collections to rid myself of ones I do not want anymore, so what is left are books I hope to reread someday (probably an impossibility considering how many I have) and music I still listen to.

But this is the 21st century, and technology is gradually making both books and cds obsolete. I have one friend who does not read books at all, yet he is an avid reader. He reads on his Kindle and listens to books via audible.com. I have another friend who is an avid music listener, yet he mostly downloads music and also subscribes to several websites where he can listen to the music of his choice. His choices are virtually unlimited in both cases.

All of this has me pondering my own buying future. Should I start investigating e-readers with the plan of actually buying one in the near future? I definitely do not want something like a Kindle, where I do not actually own my own books, but only have unlimited access to them. If I do buy an e-reader, it must be one where I can download the books and keep copies of them myself.

I already have an Ipod, but I rarely listen to it, preferring either cds or Sirius online. My problem with music is I particularly enjoy complete albums of music, not merely random songs.

I have certainly been tantalized by the Ipad, which can do almost everything I want if I travel after retirement. Will that be the device which finally pushes me into the 21st century? Or will that prove to be overrated and a failure? That seems unlikely for a Steve Jobs device, but you never know. In any case, I will probably not rush to buy an Ipad as soon as they are released. Wait and see is usually a good motto with new technology.