In the first six months of 2014, sales of hardcover and paperback books were up 2%, which is up from the 1% increase seen in 2013’s first half. A modest increase, sure, but a reassuring one as the publishing industry continues to see and expect change (regarding the digital book market, brick-and-mortar store viability, the Penguin Random House merger, and ongoing disputes between publishers and booksellers, namely Hachette and Amazon). The overall increase in print sales is largely attributed to rising sales of Young Adult fiction (which was up 14%) and nonfiction (up 11%)—in particular, Veronica Roth’s Divergent trilogy and John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars saw major sales. Physical audiobooks saw a 6% increase in this period. Mass market paperbacks, however, saw a decline of 12.2%. Adult fiction saw a decline of 13%.

Sources: Nielsen BookScan and Publishers Weekly