Print book sales climb in October

Sales of print books climbed in October, according to the America Association of Publishers.

Publishers Weekly reports that compared to October 2013, sales of hardcovers were up 14%. Trade paperbacks rose 14.6% while mass market paperback sales were up 9.9%.

In the category of children’s and young adult, which are grouped together, hardcover sales were up 4.9%, paperback sales increased a hefty 35.8% and board books were up a whopping 86.5%.

That upswing didn’t quite make up for book sales for the year, which lagged behind 2013. Overall, adult book sales were down 0.8% from 2013, with hardcovers falling 5.5% and mass market paperbacks down 5.0%. Trade paperbacks were up slightly, by 1.7%, and e-book sales held steady at $1.07 billion.

In England, signs are pointing to an e-book plateau. The bookstore chain Waterstones reported that print book sales at its stores were up 5% in December. In 2013, British readers spent $3.3 billion on printed books and just $455 million on e-books, according to The Guardian.

Analysts point to the enthusiasm of young readers as underlying the trends. A Nielsen survey showed that teens 13-17 prefer print books over e-books. Reasons could be less access to credit cards for online shopping or that teens like to share books with one another -- something that’s still hard to do with an e-book.

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