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US book sales slumped by almost a fifth in March, as publishers continue to struggle with the recession.
Shelf Awareness reports that book sales dropped 17% to $388.4 million as reported by 84 publishers to the Association of American Publishers. For the year to date, book sales are down 6.8% to $1.625 billion.
The website notes that the figures show bigger falls than the Census Bureau reported for bookshops. Sales were estimated to have fallen 1.3% to $999 million in March and are estimated to be down 4.1% to $4.242 billion for the year to date.
Among the biggest losers was adult paperback sales, which dropped 35.8% to $89.1 million. Children's and young adult hardbacks, buoyed by Stephenie Meyer, rose 6.7% to $51.7 million.