More books being published than sold

The publishing industry continues to put out more books than the public is prepared to buy, according to a new report by the Book Industry Study Group.

The number of books sold dropped by nearly 44 million between 2003 and 2004 – from 2.339 billion to 2.295 billion – even as the annual number of books published approaches 175,000.

The BISG anticipates a better year in 2005, thanks to the new Harry Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” and to a surge in high school and elementary textbook sales.