The pie charts illustrate the percentage distribution of five types of books—adult fiction, children’s fiction, biography, travel, and others—sold by a bookseller between 1972 and 2012.
Overall, the sales of adult and children’s fiction increased over the period, with adult fiction experiencing a dramatic rise, while biography, travel, and other books saw a decline.
Among the categories that increased, the share of adult fiction books rose significantly, starting at 20% in 1972, increasing to 25% in 1992, and peaking at 45% in 2012. Similarly, children’s fiction sales grew steadily from 20% in 1972 to 22% in 1992 and reached 25% by the final year.
In contrast, the remaining categories saw a downward trend. The proportion of travel books started at 15% in 1972, slightly increasing to 18% in 1992 before falling to 10% in 2012. The percentage of biography books declined from 20% in 1972 to 15% in 1992 and then dropped further to just 8% in 2012. Lastly, the “other” category, which had the highest share at 25% in 1972 and remained unchanged in 1992, saw a significant drop to 12% by 2012.