Goodreads’ Best Books Ever
Discovering social undercurrents in Goodreads’ top novels.
Welcome to Goodreads’ Best Books Ever. We will be exploring the broad dataset of the top rated novels on Goodreads, a site for readers and book recommendations, while acknowledging and contemplating the idea that each novel has a story that extends beyond its storyline, often into the atmosphere of the real world today. There is potential in every book for a shift through time and space to understand the social reality of that time period!
Through analysis of over 20 variables of different qualitative and quantitative natures, we aim to find and explain connections between popular book genres and the fluctuating social fabric of our society. Best Books Ever serves to bring to light relationship dynamics between literature and impactful movements in society.
Our Research Questions
- Does the rating differ significantly between genres, and if so, which genres tend to receive higher ratings?
- Can a correlation be established between the publisher and the rating of a book, and is it possible to identify a pattern where certain publishers tend to publish particular genres?
- How do certain impactful events in society influence reader’s preferences in genre?
Meet The Team
Miles Garofola-Lam is a sophomore at UCLA studying Cognitive Science. As project manager, he helped guide the overview of the project and ensured that all team members were on the right track. And as mapping specialist, he helped geolocate coordinates and fine tuned the mapping visualization. A fun fact is that he loves matcha.
Darren Wu is a junior at UCLA studying Computer Science. As data specialist, he oversaw the cleaning, standardizing, and augmenting of the team’s dataset. A fun fact is that he likes to run.
Catherine Chu is a junior at UCLA studying Sociology and minoring in Digital Humanities. As web specialist, she managed the structure and design of the website as well as helped with general management of the project. A fun fact about her is that she loves digital illustration.
Summer Snellings is a sophomore at UCLA studying Cognitive Science and minoring in Digital Humanities. As Data Visualization Specialist, she oversaw the project’s data visualizations, ensuring the accuracy and proper formatting of the data. A fun fact about her is that she finds great joy in caring for plants.
Nathania Pakingan is a junior at UCLA studying English and minoring in Digital Humanities. As the content specialist, she oversaw the authoring of the website’s narrative, making sure that all of the written content is coherent and unified with the data visualizations and mapping. A fun fact is that her favorite album is The Bends by Radiohead.
