Books are severely restricted by the government, which maintains an iron fist over what may be read. There are no newsstands or newsagents. A few foreign periodicals are not for sale except in upscale tourist hotels.
Most tourist outlets sell a limited range of English-language coffee-table books, travel-related books, and political treatises that have been approved by the censors. Otherwise the few bookstores that exist stock mostly Spanish-language texts, mostly socialist texts glorifying the Revolution. Castro’s own writings are the most ubiquitous works, alongside those of Che Guevara and José Martí. A new book chain, Todo Libro, was created in 2008 and has stores in half a dozen cities.