August was another soft month for bookstore sales, according to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Sales in the month fell 4.1%, to $2.08 billion, while the entire retail segment had a 4.5% sales gain. The weak August continued the downward sales trend since the spring, and for the first eight months of 2004, bookstore sales were flat at $10.9 billion. Sales for the entire retail segment were up 7.8%.