books
gregg on goodreads →My recent reads from Goodreads.
Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery (2024)
Theodore H. Schwartz
★★★★
Read Jan 25, 2026
I love brain science and I loved this book. Dr. Theodore Schwartz discusses (1) the various methods/instruments used in surgery and how they have evolved over time (2) the most important/influential brains surgeons throughout history, their contributions, and their peculiarities (3) details various cases of neurological disease in important historical figures (4) his personal experiences in the operating room and (5) his opinions and recommendations for the field in general. I believe that if I was a medial student or resident, I would be able to take a lot from this book.
Project Hail Mary (2021)
Andy Weir
★★★★★
Read Nov 18, 2025
An instant classic. You MUST read this as the audiobook. I do not wish to spoil why, but I do not know how I would have read large parts of this book and processed it in my head otherwise. More fun, more human, and more heartbreaking than Weir's other novel, The Martian.
Abundance (2025)
Ezra Klein
★★★★
Read Apr 17, 2025
I have become supply-side pilled over the past few years and wish more Americans held a positive sum view on various aspects of political debate in America instead of a zero-sum view. I'm a fan of Klein and Thompson's podcasts/writing so I was obviously buying their book. While this isn't really a critique of Abundance itself, the book is really more of a collection of synthesized essays of their author's previous writings that were organized into an easy-to-read "airport" book. I finished this book happy to have read it, but was left wanting it to have gone more in-depth in most of its chapters.
The Maid (Molly the Maid, #1) (2022)
Nita Prose
★★★★
Read Jul 8, 2024
I would have never read this book without it having been recommended to me by a friend because it codes as "girl fiction", but I quite enjoyed this book! It is incredibly funny, what what I lived most what that I have never read a book before where the main POV character was neurodivergent.
The Narrow Road Between Desires (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #0.6) (2023)
Patrick Rothfuss
★★★★
Read Mar 7, 2024
I enjoyed this book. Bast is a cool and interesting side character. And I am glad this book was written in the traditional prose of the rest of the Kingkiller chronicles, but boy do I wish Patrick Rothfuss could finish my favorite fantast series of all-time :(
Dune Messiah (Dune #2) (1969)
Frank Herbert
★★★
Read Jul 28, 2022
Dune's universe is incredible and I deeply respect how innovative and influential Frank Herbert was on all sci-fi that came after him, but damn... the Dune books sure to get pretty weird quite fast after the first novel. I'm hopping off the sandworm here.
Brave New World (1932)
Aldous Huxley
★
Read Jun 16, 2022
Brave New World is way too weird for my tastes and easily the worst book I have ever read. I only started this book because it was a "classis" and the other books I wanted were still on hold. This book was torture for me as I am a completionist and force myself to finish everything I start.
To Kill a Mockingbird (1960)
Harper Lee
★★★★★
Read Apr 30, 2022
I had somehow never read this classic. What a mistake! This book is incredible and the girl who reads the audiobook has the best southern drawl.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6) (2005)
J.K. Rowling
★★★★★
Read Sep 30, 2017
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, #5) (2003)
J.K. Rowling
★★★★★
Read Aug 30, 2017
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3) (1999)
J.K. Rowling
★★★★★
Read Jun 30, 2017
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2) (1998)
J.K. Rowling
★★★★★
Read May 31, 2017
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1) (1997)
J.K. Rowling
★★★★★
Read Apr 30, 2017
The Slow Regard of Silent Things (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #2.5) (2014)
Patrick Rothfuss
★★★
Read Mar 30, 2017
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (The Tales of Dunk and Egg, #1-3) (2015)
George R.R. Martin
★★★★★
Read Jun 30, 2016