After falling 3.4% in August, bookstore sales bounced back a bit in September, with sales increasing 3.3%, to $1.62 billion. Sales for the entire retail segment rose 5.1% in the month, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. For the first nine months of 2002, bookstore sales were up 3.3%, to $12.58 billion, compared to a 3.9% increase for all of retail.