Bookstore sales rose 6.7% in September over September 2014, according to preliminary estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Sales this September hit $1.09 billion, up from $1.02 billion last year. The increase follows a down August and was enough to drive sales up by 0.8% in the first nine months of 2015 over the same period a year ago.

For the entire retail segment, sales were up 2.4% in September and rose 2.1% in the year to date.