Sales were strong in several categories in May, with the AAP's monthly estimates showing that nine segments had double-digit gains in the month, while four categories had declines. After a very poor start, sales in the higher education segment rebounded in May, jumping 66.2%, though the segment was still down 11.7% for the year to date. The hardcover and paperback university press segments, which have also struggled in early 2004, posted increases of 18.9% and 40.3% in May, respectively. The adult hardcover segment had another good month in May, with sales ahead 31.2%, putting sales up 20.3% for the first five months of the year. The weakest segment in May was children's paperback, which had a 25.1% decline.
| CATEGORY | % CHANGE MAY | % CHANGE YTD |
| Adult Hardcover | 31.2 | 20.3 |
| Adult Paperback | 17.0 | 6.9 |
| Adult Mass Market | -3.8 | -8.4 |
| Children's/YA Hardcover | -1.4 | 2.5 |
| Children's/YA Paperback | -25.1 | 4.1 |
| Audio Books | 27.8 | 24.7 |
| Electronic Books | 66.9 | 80.4 |
| Religious Books | 23.0 | 32.4 |
| Higher Education | 66.2 | -11.7 |
| Univ. Pr. Hardcover | 18.9 | -2.5 |
| Univ. Pr. Paperback | 40.3 | -10.2 |
| Total Professional | -14.0 | -5.3 |
| Elhi | 17.9 | 12.6 |
| (Measured in $ sales against same time periods, 2004) | ||
