Sales of religious books rose 3.7% for the month of May, according to The Association of American Publishers (AAP). The month's sales were $38.8 million, but the category's sales were down 11.4% for the year.

Overall, book sales decreased by 1.8% at $670 million in May and were down by 0.7% for the year.

The Adult Hardcover category was up by 4.4% in May with sales of $166 million, while year-to-date sales decreased by 9.7%. Adult Paperback sales declined 7.3% for the month, posting $100.7 million in sales, but sales were up by 12.7% for the year.

The Children's/Young Adult Hardcover category saw a decrease of 4.9% for the month with sales of $40.4 million, and its sales for year-to-date dropped by 10.6%. The Paperback category for the same age saw a slight increase of 0.4% with sales totaling $42.5 million; annual sales were also up by 3.9%.

After a gain in April, Audiobook sales dropped an even 38% in May, with sales totaling $12.6 million; sales for the year were down by 19.7%. However, E-book sales continued to rise in May, seeing a 24.3% increase for the month to $3.3 million and posting an increase of 34.1% for the year.

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