For the third month in a row, sales of religious books rose in May, as overall book sales increased by 9.8% to $715.3 million and were up by 11.6% for the year, according to the Association of American Publishers (AAP).

The month's sales for religious books rose 8.2% to $40.1 million, and sales were up by 2.6% for the year. Sales of religious books also rose in April and March. Previously, other than a small increase in December, the religious books category had been on a steady decline since January 2009.

The brightest spot in the AAP report was e-book sales, which continued to rise in May, with sales of $29.3 million for the month--reflecting an increase of 162.8% for May and 207.4% for the year.

The Adult Hardcover category was up by 43.2% in May with sales of $138.5 million, and year-to-date sales were up by 21.7%. Adult Paperback sales decreased by 2.2% for the month--posting $110.7 million in sales--but were up by 15.7% for the year.

The Children's/Young Adult Hardcover category decreased by 1.3% for the month with sales of $58.1 million, and year-to-date sales were down by 23.3%. The Paperback category for the same age decreased 8.1% in May with sales totaling $39.9 million, and sales were down by 6.6% for the year.

Audiobook sales increased 5.1% in May--with sales totaling $12.9 million--and the category's year-to-date sales were up by 13.1%.

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