Recently a Books and Tea friend shared the link to the Tarot Black Lives Matter book bingo, created by The Tarot Sequence fandom as

a chance to show our love for Black authors, especially queer Black authors, and encourage each other to read more diversely and smartly, to read beyond the reaches of our comfort genres, and further educate ourselves on the subjects that are raised in these stories. And most importantly, to make that a habit, not just a one-off.

Given my resolution to read more books by Black authors, and my love of book bingos and of tarot, joining this reading challenge was an easy decision. Since it runs from July 6 to December 6*, there’s still plenty of time to join and complete prompts!

Rules (x)

• Books must be written (or co-written) by Black authors.
• Unless specified, books can be fiction or non-fiction; prose, verse, or graphic novel.
• Only one square may be filled by a re-read, and each book can only be used once. Multiple books by the same author is perfectly okay!
• After each book, we highly encourage you to write a review (or draw or film–get creative!) and share on Goodreads, Amazon, and social media (please do NOT tag authors in negative reviews). 
• Email your bingo cards to tarotsequenceevents@gmail.com, along with country of residence (for prize purposes) and, if you’re comfortable sharing, social media usernames (so that we know to tag you in winner announcement posts).

End date*: December 6 (11:59 PM PST)

*Dec 6 was the official end date, but I had 4 prompts left so I set a personal goal to finish them by Dec 31, which I did accomplish!

last updated December 31, 2020

PROGRESS: 25 / 25

✓ FOOL: middle grade – Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia
✓ MARTYR: a book about change, surrender, or letting go – Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
✓ MAGICIAN: set in a secondary world – A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
✓ CHARIOT: memoir – Well-Read Black Girl ed. by Glory Edim
✓ JUSTICE: based on/inspired by real life injustice – Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall

✓ HIEROPHANT: coming-of-age or YA contemporary – Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson & Ellen Hagan
✓ TEMPERANCE: set during the 1920s or 1930s – Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
✓ HIGH PRIESTESS: mystery – Blanche of the Lam by Barbara Neely
✓ TOWER: a building/structure on the cover – Charming as a Verb by Ben Philippe
✓ EMPEROR: father MC or father-child relationship – Karamo: My Story of Embracing Purpose, Healing and Hope by Karamo Brown

✓ MOON: explores mental health – When the Stars Lead to You by Ronni Davis
✓ SUN: optimistic, hopepunk book – An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
✓ FREE SPACE – The Toni Morrison Book Club by Juda Bennett, Winnifred Brown-Glaude, Cassandra Jackson, & Piper Kendrix Williams
✓ MISFIT: feat. found family – The Color Purple by Alice Walker
✓ LOVERS: feat. strong friendships or romance – The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus

✓ STRENGTH: action-adventure – Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
✓ HERMIT: biography – The Autobiography of Malcolm X
✓ WHEEL OF FORTUNE: theme of “actions have consequences” – Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
✓ DEATH: published in the second half of 2020 – Early Departures by Justin A. Reynolds
✓ JUDGMENT: book with an overused trope – The Survival of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson

✓ DEVIL: a book you’ve been putting off/hesitant about reading – Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
✓ EMPRESS: mother MC or mother-child relationship – With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
✓ STAR: set in outer space – Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delaney
✓ NEW ATLANTIS: urban fantasy – A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow
✓ WORLD: set in a country that’s not your own – War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi