In a continuing sign of the sliding economy, sales of religious books fell a quarter in October, while all book categories were down 20% for the month, according to the Association of American Publishers.

The month’s sales for religious books were $57.1 million, down 25.6%, while the category’s sales were down 11.5% for the year. Sales of religious books also decreased 11.8% and 10.8% for the months of September and August, respectively.

The Adult Hardcover category was down by 25% in October with sales of $246.2 million, while year-to-date sales decreased by 13.1%. Adult Paperback sales decreased 23% for the month, posting $95 million in sales, but sales increased by 4.1% for the year. 

The Children’s/Young Adult Hardcover category saw an increase of 0.8% for the month, with sales of $86.4 million, but its year-to-date sales significantly dropped, by 23.4%. The Paperback category for the same age was down 14.8% with sales totaling $43.8 million, although sales for the year were up by 6.1%.

Audiobook sales decreased 9.1% in October, with sales totaling $18.4 million; sales for the year were down by 22.9%. However, E-book sales continued to rise in October, seeing a 73% increase for the month to $5.2 million and posting an increase of 57.7% for the year.

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