Each week, we offer a roundup of the best literary events in the city. All events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.

Katherine Preston (Out with It: How Stuttering Helped Me Find My Voice)

Tuesday, March 4, 7:30 pm, at the Booksmith (1644 Haight St.)

Stuttering affects more than four million Americans and another 60 million worldwide, yet little is known about this stressful and embarrassing affliction. Preston, who's struggled with a stutter since age 7, traveled the country to interview everyone from celebrities to financiers to writers, all of whom have suffered from stuttering, and attempt to better understand both it and herself. Along the way, she discovered both love and new pathways for self-expression.

Michio Kaku (The Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the Mind)

Saturday, March 1, 5 pm, at Books Inc. (601 Van Ness Ave.)

Kaku, one of the co-founders of string field theory and a renowned physicist, brings his scientific expertise to bear on the brain in this new book, which explores the bleeding edge of neuroscience. Scientists are now understanding the brain in ways previously thought impossible, and Kaku details how, within our lifetimes, their innovations could lead to recording memories, telekinesis, videotaping dreams, "smart pills" to enhance cognition, and uploading brains to a computer. Written for the layman, Kaku's book uses current research to predict what our lives may look like in the not-so-distant future. 

Jenifer Ringer (Dancing Through It: My Journey in the Ballet)

Sunday, March 2, 1 pm, at Book Passage Corte Madera (51 Tamal Vista Blvd.)

Ringer, a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, was subjected to a media firestorm when a New York Times reviewer made a nasty comment about her weight in a review of one of her performances. She retired from the ballet last month at age 40, and has released this memoir, which details the joys of dancing, her struggles with anorexia and eating disorders, and how she fell in love with her husband, a fellow dancer. It's a revealing look into the highly competitive, often secretive world of professional ballet.