Sales of religious books dipped slightly in February, while overall book sales increased by 12.2% to $486.3 million and were up by 4.8% for the year, according to the Association of American Publishers (AAP).

The month's sales for religious books declined 1.7% to $46 million,and were down by 8.9% for the year. Sales of religious books were down 14.6% to $42.2 million in January.

Other than a small increase in December, the religious books category had been on a steady decline since January 2009.

The bright spot in the AAP report was e-book sales, which continued to rise in February, with sales of $28.9 million for the month--reflecting an increase of 339.3% for February.

The Adult Hardcover category was up by 0.3% in February with sales of $80.5 million, but year-to-date sales were down by 3.8%. Adult Paperback sales increased by 35.3% for the month--posting $106.3 million in sales--and were up by 15.9% for the year.

The Children's/Young Adult Hardcover category decreased by 48.5% for the month with sales of $34.2 million, and year-to-date sales were down by 45.1%. The Paperback category for the same age decreased by 15.5% in February with sales totaling $35.1 million, and sales were down by 16.7% for the year.

Audiobook sales increased 15.2% in February--with sales totaling $11.2 million--and the category's year-to-date sales were up by 9.4%.

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