Among the most interesting news items today is the revelation that Amazon has signed a 10-year exclusive deal to republish all 14 of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels.

That means if you have a Nook, you won’t be reading those books digitally any time soon — though obviously iPad owners will be able to just use the Kindle app.

One wonders if this kind of fragmentation will lead folks to adopt the iPad over the Kindle or Nook — just to make sure they get access to everything. After all, you can get apps for any bookstore on the iPad.

Apple’s invested in iBooks somewhat, but at the end of the day, it’s a hardware company so that’d be no skin off its back.

It’s enough of a concern now for consumers that they don’t really technically “own” or possess the media they buy anymore. But they also have to worry about buying and maintaining multiple devices to keep up.

If I’m a James Bond fan and my Kindle dies, I have to buy another Kindle to access my favorite books again, even if I also own a Nook.

It’s not good for consumers. This digital media thing has a dark side. But is it all worth it?