The Association of American Publishers (AAP) reported some promising news today: sales in the adult hardcover category rose 49.2 percent in April compared to the year before–a cool $142.9 million in sales.

The complete press release with April sales figures is embedded below. Overall book sales for April were up 24.8 percent compared to April last year, rising to $629.8 million. That’s an improvement over figures for March 2010 as well, as overall sales totaled $458.2 million that month. If you want more eBook sales results, check out this eBookNewser report.

At the same time, there were mixed results in other categories. Here’s more from the release: “Adult Mass Market sales decreased 17.7 percent for April with sales totaling $49.1 million; sales were down by 6.3 percent through April. Hardcover Children’s/YA sales declined 11.2 percent for the month with sales of $40.5 million; sales through April are down by 30.2 percent.”

AAP Reports 11% Increase in Book Sales Through April