Religious books posted an increase of 31.8% for February, with sales totaling $39.5 million, according to the Association of American Publishers (AAP).

Religious book sales were also up by 33% for the year. AAP previously reported that sales in the category were up 28.2% for January, with sales totaling $34.6 million. That's a significant turnaround for religious book sales, which were down 8.3% for December at $50.6 million. The category also dipped 10.2% in 2006, AAP said.

Publishing sales showed growth in February for most of the categories tracked by the association, with net sales up by 12.6% for the month and 10.2% for the year.

The Adult Hardcover category was up by 43.4% in February, with sales of $111.9 million. Adult Paperback sales saw a gain of 3.2% for the month, with sales of $97.6 million, AAP said.

The Adult Mass Market category declined by 11.2% for February, with sales of $59.3 million and down 7.8% for the year. The Children's/Young Adult Hardcover category grew by 43.4% for the month, with sales of $37.4 million and an increase of 31.7% for the year. The Children's/Young Adult Paperback category increased 5.71% for the month, with sales totaling $34.1 million. However, sales were down by 12.9% for the year.

Audiobook sales posted a small decrease of 0.5% for February compared to last year's figures, with sales totaling $10.5 million. Sales for the year in that category were up by 9.5%. E-books rose by 44.7% for the month, with sales of $2.5 million and an increase of 26.4% for the year.

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