Monthly book releases tripled from 2022 to late 2025 as LLMs diffused, while the vol
ume of non-AI titles remained constant. Average book appeal– ratings received, sales
ranks, and average star ratings– worsened, but the surge in releases raised the number
of books with modest appeal. AI-containing books are less used, and their growth,
complementing a steady stream of human releases, explains the decline in average ap
peal. A nested logit calibration shows that the AI books raised consumer surplus only
modestly. Previously active authors have increased their releases in the LLM era.