Adult hardcover sales rose 23 percent and adult paperback sales rose 4.5 percent in December compared to the same period last year. However, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) noted that all three categories were down for the calendar year.
Here’s more from the AAP release (embedded below): “The categories fell slightly for 2010 vs calendar year 2009 with Hardbacks sales at $1.57B vs $1.65B in 2009 (-5.1 percent); Paperbacks reaching $1.38B vs $1.41B in 2009 (-2.0 percent) and Mass Market at $673.5M for 2010 vs $718.9M (-6.3 percent).”
As you can see by the AAP chart embedded above (click to enlarge), eBook sales recorded another strong month. Sales increased 164.8 percent in December compared to the same period last year. Overall, eBook sales increased 164.4 percent compared to 2009.