BEST VEGAN BOOKS FOR BECOMING (AND STAYING) VEGAN

Vegan Books. Are there two finer words in the English language? Maybe, but not in my opinion, and it’s definitely better than cellar door (haha fu Tolkien). In this blog post we are going to be looking at the best books for vegans, no matter whether you’re a newbie or an old-hat, no matter if you’re looking for cookbooks, books on how to go or be vegan, whatever you like I’ll give it to you (o-er). ALSO, we’re going to be discussing the intricacies of travelling with books because this is a vegan travel blog yo!

I called this blog post ‘best vegan books for becoming (and staying) vegan. The becoming part is clear – these are my personal favourites on how to go vegan – ones I used myself back in the day, and ones that I’ve read since (gotta keep up-to-date, also, I’m a nerd). I say ‘and staying vegan’, but a more accurate keyword would have been ‘vegan cookbooks’ – my personal favourites, but more on that in a moment. 

Lastly: I’m sad to say that there are amazon affiliate links in this post. I didn’t want to use them because I think Bezos is immoral, but I acknowledge that for many people this is the easiest, most convenient way to buy. I’ve used Book Depository affiliate links instead where possible, which unfortunately it wasn’t always. Ultimately, I hope you can beg, borrow or steal these books before supporting amazon – or even the book depository that uses wage labour, but I know that’s not always possible. Anyway, let’s get on to the reviews:

1. The Best Vegan Books (And Where To Find Them)

Books on how to go vegan

Okay, so if you’ve gone thus far without being vegan, how can you now just magically become a vegan? With these books: 

How Not To Die 

First, let’s get the basics: How Not To Die I’m not a massive fan of this title (or the cover), but we’re not supposed to judge them like that, and it’s a good job too because the content is really really good. I first came across this book at Sophie’s. Sophie had helpfully highlighted the passages that were most interesting because this really is a book and a half. I personally enjoyed dipping in and out of it rather than reading it all in one go. But overall I deem this as a go-to vegan bible for shutting people up when they come at you with non-facts. Because this book is filled with the actual facts. All the stuff that the pharmaceutical companies lie to you about? Debunked. The vegan way! You can find the hardback copy here on the Book Depository for around £18. Which wouldn’t exactly be easy to travel with (it’s heavy at the best of times) so here is the ebook version too.

The Little Book of Veganism

The Little Book Of Veganism compliments How Not To Die extremely well, imho. Namely because, true to its name, it’s little and can easily be read in a few hours. It’s a really great little overview of veganism and somehow manages to get a lot in (environmental factors, thoughts on foods, recipes and more) without being an overload of info. Put simply (and pun so intended) it’s a great little taster to veganism. This is one of the very few vegan books where I recommend you actually get a real copy of (as opposed to an ebook) because it’s so so light. Shout out to my sister for giving me this book when I first became vegan, it was such a thoughtful gift! Paperback version available here. 

How To Go Vegan

How To Go Vegan does exactly what it says on the tin – teaches you how to go vegan. It’s brought to you by Veganuary (the masterminds who initiated a vegan January challenge). Unfortunately by the time I got around to reading this I was already a long-term vegan, so obviously it all felt a little obvious to me, but once I put my non-narcissistic goggles on (something all bloggers should have btw), I could see that this would have been really helpful if I’d read it years before. Hence why I recommend it as a holy trinity with the above two books. With these three you have your arsenal of how to go vegan books. Yey. Hardback version here. Ebook version here.

Vegan Cookbooks

Now we know why we’re vegan and how to go vegan let’s move on to a place we all (hopefully) know and love: the kitchen and the dinner table. Vegan cookbooks are just awesome, here are some of my favourites:

The How Not To Die Cookbook

The How Not To Die Cookbook is (you guessed it) the sister to the How Not To Die info book. Here you’ll find over 100 recipes, all vegan, all designed with health in mind – which, cannot be said for all vegan cookbooks! One of the main benefits to veganism is the health benefits, and this book goes there and then some. An absolute must-have for anyone who is interested in living a long, healthy life with sparkly eyes and fresh fluffy faces. Paperback version here from the BD. 

Vegan Comfort Classics

Okay, as much as I’m into healthy vegan food, sometimes we all need something less healthy. Especially when we’re entertaining sceptical carnists. I find Vegan Comfort Classics a real winner when entertaining people on the road. Together we can show that veganism doesn’t have to be ‘boring’ healthy food. Here are 101 recipes from burgers to ‘bacon’, sandwiches and pancakes and beyond. Essential for people who are into healthy food but also secretly not, like me. Haha. Ebook copy here.

Vegan One £ Meals

Yet another worry for newbie vegans is the price aspect of veganism, and I get it! Many vegan faux-meats and cheeses are hella expensive. If you’re freaking about money, THIS is the book for you. Vegan One Pound Meals is chocker with fresh, healthy, cheap meals, for just one pound?! (Translation for anyone thinking in terms of weight, we’re talking in terms of British currency). I personally love how adaptable these recipes are, and, I love even more than these meals often cost less than a pound, depending on where in the world you’re buying your ingredients. Paperback version here from BD. Ebook copy here.

I use being a vegan travel blogger as a flimsy excuse for reading as many vegan cookbooks as I can get my grubby little paws on. Four others I’m currently enjoying (but not yet finished so don’t feel like I can quite justify fully reviewing yet) are:

Plant-Based Cookbook For Beginners (a fancy way of saying vegan cookbook for beginners),
15-Minute Vegan perfect (you guessed it) for people who have zero time (or zero interest) to cook,
BOSH! The highest-selling vegan cookery book ever (which does the unimaginable: is popular and is approved by me?? Aka Ms I-hate-anything-popular) and, last but best:
Chloe’s Vegan Italian Kitchen (Chloe, I highly doubt you’ll ever read this, but if you do please marry me okay thanks).

2. Travelling with Vegan Books, How Do You Do That?

Last but not least, how can you travel with a library when you’re not Hermione and can’t do that spell to make your library feather-light? ALSO, how can you find vegan books when you’re halfway across the planet and all the books are in foreign?

#1. GET AN E-READER

Like seriously, you actually can be Hermione nowadays, travelling around with your own personal library, if you get a e-reader. It was one of the best inventions ever. And you don’t have to cut down any of these babies to make paper to make books:

E-readers are electronic devices similar to a tablet but it’s just for books. It took me years to get one and I kicked myself for not getting one sooner. I’m still on the one without a light (which has not only lasted the test of time and travel but (even more impressively) has survived me accidentally throwing it on the floor like, once a day)? But they have fancier ones now with backlights and you can even get a waterproof one! Cannot stress this enough, vegan or not, e-readers are the way to read whilst travelling.

#2. VEGAN ONLINE BOOKS

Once it comes to actually putting vegan books on your kindle, you can find hundreds of vegan books on amazon. My Godmother is an actual saint and regularly gives me amazon vouchers, which is how I download my kindle books (cause frankly, I wouldn’t support Bezos myself). For everything else though there’s downloading illegally. Is it even illegal? I dunno read this: is it illegal to download books? It’s different in different countries (once again, the joys of travelling).

#3. GET BOOKS SECOND-HAND

I get it though, that smell of books, right? Being able to fold the pages over, reading in the bath etc. If you must travel with books, travel with second-hand ones. Leave them in weird (waterproof) spots on the earth, let someone else enjoy them.

3. Wrap Up: My Favourite Vegan Books

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it, if so you may also enjoy my random ramblings about vegan films and documentaries. I’ll leave you with a video about some other great vegan reads! Enjoy! 🙂

P.S.: If you’re interested in an app designed for vegans & wanna support the vegan movement and us, veganvstravel as well, use this link plz to download Abillionveg. When registering, please use our referral code: TRAVELLINGWEASELS. If you wanna know why we think this is a great app, read here.