OK then....
So in a
PERFECT WORLD my best option would be to format each book in txt, mobi, epub, AND lit.... Store them on Solid State media (no moving parts), preferably double or triple copies.
But since I don't live in a perfect world, and Money IS a factor, The winner will be txt and epub copies (and the PDF original if there is one) on my backup 1Tera drive and 3 sets of DVD's from different manufacturers so that hopefully one of the sets will survive longer than the first time my 12 year old drops them.
Thanks Everyone for your input, even tho some of you lost me in the particulars....
And BTW - I'm just "an appliance user" as my HamRadio instructor called some of us... I know how to turn it on, call up my software, and do the basics. I don't know about Umbutu, Linux, MacApple. or any of the rest of the bunch. I learned to program Fortran, RPGII, and COBOL with punch cards in climate-controlled rooms on computers that had less processing power than my e-reader. the interior workings no longer interest me... It changes faster than the seasons.
Kathy the MamaDragon