Charles A. Wiley's To God Be The Glory

Typically I skip the chopsticks. My hands, so deft at typing, clumsily mismanage the wooden instruments. VICTORIA ABBOTT RICCARDI astutely handles both the delicate utensils and the jumbled keyboard. UNTANGLING MY CHOPSTICKS: A CULINARY SOJOURN IN KYOTO demonstrates her skills at both. Though the book is peppered with 27 recipes, Untangling My Chopsticks is more a cultural infusion than a mere cookbook. Riccardi's culinary travelogue began when, just two years out of college, she abandoned the U.S. to immerse herself in the study of kaiseki, the stylized cooking that accompanies the formal tea ceremony in Japan. Fascinating is the way Riccardi weaves through her time in Kyoto, from living with a Japanese couple to befriending a monk, one of the strange and fortunate twists of fate that befalls the author's way. Saturated in colorful culture, Untangling My Chopsticks enhances its meal through Riccardi's insightfully rich, and oft-times humorous, writing. Experiencing Japan in a way tourists never can, Riccardi shares her first-hand stories with a reading and signing at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Joseph-Beth Booksellers. 513-396-8960. ...

It sounds like a bad horror movie, and maybe it is. Something lurks beneath the Queen City. Tales of THE CINCINNATI SUBWAY have been bandied about for decades like an urban legend gone wild. The stories of Cincinnati's other underground railroad are embedded in buried truths. Railroad enthusiast ALLEN J. SINGER hops aboard The Cincinnati Subway, a great hope for the city while construction was underway from 1920-1927. Then the money ran out. Singer's investigations into one of Cincinnati's biggest failures (and really, the city has so many) is a time-tripping look not only at mass transit but the direction of a city. Singer will sign and discuss The Cincinnati Subway at noon Saturday at Joseph-Beth Booksellers. 513-396-8960. ...

WOMEN WRITING FOR (A) CHANGE is on a roll with its SATURDAY SERIES WORKSHOPS. That's not exactly news. WWf(a)C long has a reputation for its quality efforts. Now more can sample that quality. In an effort to "take writing programs to communities where women may have limited options," WWf(a)C will be holding more programming at wheelchair-accessible locations. The first outing, From Draft to Craft: Shaping Words in Prose, a revision workshop led by Kathy Wade, will be held from 2-6 p.m. Saturday at The Early Childhood Center of Children's Home of Cincinnati, 5014 Madison Road, Madisonville. Cost is $50. To register call 513-272-1171 or visit www.womenwriting.org. ...

On the cover of his autobiography, TO GOD BE THE GLORY, Cincinnatian CHARLES A. WILEY is poised in front of a blurred American flag. He sports a black beret with a gold insignia: an outline of the coast of Africa with the letters "BPB." The letters, as the text reveals, stands for "Black Positive Brothers," an organization the author conceived to cope with problems in the community. The cover is a key definition of Wiley. He believes in his country, he believes in his heritage and he believes in the Lord. The mingling of the three permeates his easy, matter-of-fact style. This is who he is and, fortunately, he makes no apologies for it. Subtitled "One Hundred Reasons Why I Could Have Become Racist," the book is actually 21 chapters looking at the various hardships Wiley has had to endure, from depending on "The System" as a child to suffering depression following workplace discrimination. Wiley writes from a place of truth, hitting his stride as he details being subjected to racial profiling. His conversational storytelling allows readers to feel what it's like to be an African-American male in Cincinnati. There's bitterness, sure, but Wiley constantly refers to his faith, a source of strength for him, as his means not to reverse racial profiling. Wiley hits hardest when he shares those personal deep-down feelings many don't share. Unfortunately, he doesn't do this nearly enough, glossing over some areas, such as his complex family structure, that would have made for a more engrossing read. Despite this, he manages to identify with his readers, a trait which reveals even more about Wiley. For more information on To God Be The Glory, go to www.never-giveup.com.