April Bookstore Sales Continue Downward Slide
April was the third month in a row that retail sales at bookstores failed to keep pace with 2005 results, according to figures recently released by the Bureau of the Census. Bookstore sales of $937 million in April were 4.3 percent off the $979 million realized in April 2005.
Overall retail sales continued to outperform bookstore sales. April's overall retail sales of $357 billion were 5.6 percent better than the $338 billion reported in April 2005.
James Patterson, the bestselling author whose suspense novels have been described as keep-you-up-all-night page-turners, is once again awarding cash prizes to booksellers, educators, festival organizers, philanthropic groups, and others, who find effective ways to spread the excitement of books and promote reading. 
BookSense.com recently announced several new features that improve and enhance the entire family of BookSense.com websites, as well as a schedule for maintenance that will result in some minor down time.