Literary value in online environments. An empirical study of literary evaluation on Goodreads

The rise of Web 2.0 has transformed the production and reception of literary works, creating an entirely new environment for the circulation of literature. One of the most striking features of this digital literary sphere is the disruption of traditional hierarchies that once governed evaluative practices. Ordinary readers now share with former ‘gatekeepers’ the power to shape the success and cultural significance of literary works through online engagement. This democratization of literary authority reopens the question of literary value, as digital platforms foster new evaluative dynamics that challenge established notions of what counts as valuable literature. My research investigates these value dynamics on digital social reading platforms through an empirical, data-driven framework. I first develop a model of literary evaluation that accounts for the contributions of all readers, regardless of their role. I then analyse how individual evaluative acts aggregate into higher-order regularities, such as collective tastes within specific online communities. Finally, I examine the external forces that influence these evaluative processes, showing how they give rise to broader, supra-individual trends in the attribution of literary value.