Sales of religious books had its largest increase in more than a year in March, as overall book sales increased by 16.6% to $458.2 million and were up by 8% for the year, according to the Association of American Publishers (AAP).

The month's sales for religious books rose 7% to $49.5 million,but were down by 3.5% for the year. Sales of religious books were down 1.7% to $46 million in February. 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 March, with sales of $28.5 million for the month--reflecting an increase of 184.8% for March and 251.9% for the year.

The Adult Hardcover category was up by 15.1% in March with sales of $92 million, and year-to-date sales were up by 3.7%. Adult Paperback sales increased by 38.2% for the month-posting $123.2 million in sales--and were up by 23.5% for the year.

The Children's/Young Adult Hardcover category decreased by 12.3% for the month with sales of $45.4 million, and year-to-date sales were down by 35.2%. The Paperback category for the same age increased by 6.1% in March with sales totaling $47 million, but sales were down by 8.5% for the year.

Audiobook sales increased 8.6% in March--with sales totaling $9.8 million--and the category's year-to-date sales were up by 14.7%.

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