It may be the end of Veganuary but that doesn’t mean your vegan journey needs to end here! I hope everyone that has followed along has enjoyed the posts and perhaps found some time to start reading some of these recommendations. Veganism is a social justice movement focused on achieving total liberation for non-human animals but also a movement that recognizes the intersectionality of oppression and the need for a fundamental shift in our economies. Putting the environment and biodiversity at the center of our societies is vital if we are to combat climate change and this includes moving away from the colonial understanding of animals as merely things for our use and exploitation. In a month, I couldn’t possibly have included all the incredible works that have inspired me to go vegan and campaign for animal rights, but I hope this list helps inspire some of you!

1. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglas 
2. Beast of Burden: Animal and Disability Liberation by Sunaura Taylor
3. The Dreaded Comparison: Human & Animal Slavery by Marjorie Spiegel 
4. Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals by Alexis Pauline Gumbs
5. Afro-Dog: Blackness and the Animal Question by Benedicte Boisseron 
6. Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
7. Five Essays for Freedom: A Political Primer for Animal Advocates by Kristy Alger
8. The Postcolonial Animal: African Literature and Posthuman Ethics by Evan Maina Mwangi 
9. Memoirs of a Porcupine by Alain Mabanckou
10. Walking with Gorillas: The Journey of an African Wildlife Vet by Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka
11. How to Unite the Left on Animals: A Handbook on Total Liberationist Veganism by John Tallent
12. Becoming Human: Matter and Meaning in an AntiBlack World by Zakiyyah Iman Jackson 
13. Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? By Frans de Waal
14. The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol Adams
15. The Big Conservation Lie by John Mbaria & Mordecai Ogada
16. Racism as Zoological Witchcraft by Aph Ko
17. Animal Colonialism: The Case of Milk by Mathilde Cohen
18. In the Company of Men by Veronique Tadjo
19. Fevered Planet by John Vidal
20. Animal Welfare in China by Peter J Li
21. Farmageddon by Philip Lymbery
22. Dominance & Affection by Yi-Fu Tuan
23. Filing the Ark by Leslie Irvine
24. Mother Cow, Mother India by Yamini Narayanan
25. Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

Abdourahamane Ly, guest curator for Veganuary at Global Literature in Libraries Initiative, has been vegan for the past seven years now. He is extremely passionate about animal rights and encouraging more humans, especially Africans, to go vegan. He was born in Guinea in West Africa but spent the last 13 years in China. He is currently in Rwanda spreading the vegan message. You can follow him on Instagram at @fulanivegan and X at @fulanivegan.