{"id":28091,"date":"2025-12-31T02:56:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T02:56:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/?p=28091"},"modified":"2025-12-31T02:56:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T02:56:01","slug":"queen-latifah-reveals-the-3-books-she-rereads-every-summer-to-stay-grounded-and-grateful-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/?p=28091","title":{"rendered":"Queen Latifah Reveals the 3 Books She Rereads Every Summer to Stay Grounded and Grateful"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Queen Latifah, success has never been about trophies or red carpets. The Grammy- and Emmy-winning star, whose influence stretches from hip-hop to Hollywood, says her truest power comes from remembering where she started \u2014 and staying connected to the lessons that built her.<\/span><\/p>\n

Every summer, no matter where she is in the world, she returns to the same ritual: rereading three books that, as she puts it, \u201ckeep me humble, thankful, and human.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey remind me where I came from,\u201d Latifah said with a warm smile during a recent interview. Reaching into a worn leather bag she carries almost everywhere, she added, \u201cAnd where I\u2019m still trying to go.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

A Ritual Born in the Early Days of Fame<\/span><\/h3>\n

Those close to Latifah say the tradition began in the 1990s, during the filming of Living Single<\/em>, when the rush of success first threatened to pull her away from her roots. What started as a quiet act of self-reflection soon became a life-long habit \u2014 a way to stay grounded when fame got loud.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was my way of holding on to myself,\u201d she said. \u201cThese books became a check-in with who I am.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\ud83d\udcd6 The Autobiography of Malcolm X<\/em> \u2014 by Malcolm X and Alex Haley<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cThis one reminds me of strength,\u201d Latifah said, running her hand over the book\u2019s worn, dog-eared cover.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time I read it, I remember what it means to evolve \u2014 to own your past and grow from it. Malcolm\u2019s journey wasn\u2019t about perfection; it was about progress. That hits me every time. You can fall, learn, and rise again \u2014 that\u2019s the real revolution.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\ud83c\udfb6 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings<\/em> \u2014 by Maya Angelou<\/span><\/h3>\n

The second book, Latifah says, speaks to her soul \u201clike a familiar song.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMaya taught me that your voice has power \u2014 even when people try to silence you,\u201d she shared. \u201cReading her makes me remember the little girl from Newark who dreamed big and wasn\u2019t afraid to speak her truth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Some passages still move her to tears.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s one line I underline every time: I rise.<\/em> That\u2019s not just poetry. That\u2019s prayer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

During the interview, Latifah even opened her copy and read aloud softly:<\/span>
\u201cBringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise.<\/em>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She closed the book gently and smiled. \u201cThat right there \u2014 that\u2019s everything. That\u2019s why I read them. They remind me I\u2019m part of something bigger \u2014 a story that started long before me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\ud83d\udc9c The Four Agreements<\/em> \u2014 by Don Miguel Ruiz<\/span><\/h3>\n

Her third summer reread is what she calls her \u201cpeace manual.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the world gets loud \u2014 social media, politics, expectations \u2014 this one helps me tune back into myself,\u201d Latifah said. \u201cIt\u2019s simple but powerful. Don\u2019t take things personally, don\u2019t make assumptions<\/em> \u2014 those two alone have saved me a lot of stress.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She laughed softly. \u201cIt\u2019s like spiritual maintenance \u2014 you don\u2019t wait till you break down to take care of yourself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Staying True in a Changing World<\/span><\/h3>\n

For a woman who\u2019s spent her life breaking barriers \u2014 pioneering women in hip-hop, starring in blockbuster films, and running her own production company \u2014 Queen Latifah says staying grounded is no mystery.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople ask how I stay true to myself,\u201d she said with an easy smile. \u201cIt\u2019s not some secret. I just go back to the lessons that raised me \u2014 faith, family, and books that remind me to be grateful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And as she slipped the three books back into her bag, the picture became clear: a global star who never lost touch with the girl she once was.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Queen, it turns out, has always known where her crown comes from \u2014 not fame or power, but the pages that taught her how to rise.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Queen Latifah, success has never been about trophies or red carpets. The Grammy- and Emmy-winning star, whose influence stretches from hip-hop to Hollywood, says her truest power comes from remembering where she started \u2014 and staying connected to the lessons that built her. Every summer, no matter where she is in the world, she…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28091"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28091\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}