The Bookarang team consists of a combination of (nerdy) readers and (reading) nerds.
The Bookarang team:
Arend Zwaneveld
Business manager
Energetic hard worker with a background in business development, web analysis and data science. Studied Applied Physics at TU Delft with a specialization in quantum physics and co-founded a successful online startup. Enjoys spending his free time with family or as a trainer/coach on the rugby field.
Favourite book: Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
Niels Bogaards
Artificial Intelligence
Expert in the field of Artificial Intelligence. Worked at the world-famous IRCAM in Paris. Thinks in zeros and ones.
Favourite book: A Bend in the River, V.S. Naipaul
Fokke de Jong
DevOps
Studied at the HKU and works as a software developer in the field of music and audio processing. Essential part of Bookarang’s team as DevOps.
Favourite book: Catch-22, Joseph Heller
Maaike Koninx
Research & Development
Studied Mathematics and Computer Science and gained ML experience at the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica. Avid reader and thus intrinsically interested in the combination of books and AI.
Favourite book: Kafka on the shore, Haruki Murakami
Robin van der Markt
Research & Development
Dedicated computer scientist. Graduated in Machine Learning and worked as a Lead Developer and Software Engineer. One of Bookarangs ML experts.
Favourite book: Buzz Aldrin, what happened to you in all the confusion?, Johan Harstad
Simone van Bruggen
Research & Development
100% background in artificial intelligence. Studied AI at the UU and UvA, interned at Microsoft and TNO and gained working experience as a Machine Learning Research Engineer. Special interest in NLP.
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
Patricia Piolon
Research & Development
Developer and data analist with a background in the literary world. Studied Social Science Informatics, worked as a technical writer and as a literary translator for various leading publishing houses. Likes data, code and language to be pretty & neat.
Favourite book: To Reign in Hell, Steven Brust
Jessica Ruinard
Book Annotator
Studied Biochemistry and worked as a clinical perfusionist and teacher in higher education. Currently developing herself in the field of Eastern medicine. Curious, inquisitive and — of course — very much into books.
Favourite book: Walden, Henry David Thoreau
Zep de Bruyn
Book Annotator & Software and Recommendation Tester
Studied Image & Media Technology at the HKU and Literary Studies & Cultural Analysis at the UvA. Zep is editor at cultural magazine De Optimist and works as a freelance illustrator and video editor. Culture to the max!
Favourite book: A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
Christiaan Vijn
Book Annotator & Chief Recommendations
Full focus on language and literature: a bachelor degree in English Language and Literature, a masters degree in Literature, Culture & Society, and an extended internship at literary publishing house Atlas Contact.
Favourite book: Sunken Red, Jeroen Brouwers
Ava Dubbelboer
Book Annotator
Grew up in Amsterdam, lived in China for two years to attend classes at the United World College and studies Ethics & Politics now at Bard College in Berlin. Bookarang’s specialist in the field of Young Adult books.
Favourite book: The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
Petra Spiljard
Book Annotator
Trained to teach Dutch, worked in vocational education and taught Dutch as a second language. Now teaches writing at the Academy for Theatre and Dance. Also works as a photographer. Loves language, people and images.
Favourite book: Traktat o łuskaniu fasoli, Wieslaw Mysliwski
Vera Hoogstad
Book Annotator
Studied Theatre Studies and Dramaturgy at the UvA, then moved from theatre to the world of books. Works as an editor at publishing house De Nieuwe Toneelbibliotheek and has a love for poetry and experimental literature.
Favourite book: A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
Max Waser
Research & Development
Skilful programmer who studied Chemistry and obtained his teachers' degree, then switched to Computer Science. Has experience with machine learning and AI, and knows the more complex programming languages.
Favourite book: His Majesty's Dragon, Naomi Novik
Jesca Hoogendijk
Research & Development
Obtained a MSc. degree with a specialisation in AI, focussed on computer vision, cognitive modelling and formal logical language processing. Worked as a developer and software engineer during her studies. Part of Bookarang’s development team.
Favourite book: On Connections, Kae Tempest
Kim Ouweleen
Book Annotation Coordinator
Analytical thinker with a love for art and culture. Studied Art History and specialised in surrealism. Worked as an illustrator, graphic designer and editor. Published a book about Kamagurka’s oeuvre. Ardent Go player with a NL top 10 ranking. Coordinator of the book annotation process.
Favourite book: Les Chants de Maldoror, Comte de Lautréamont
Wessel Sandtke
Research & Development
Versatile computer scientist with a background in Psychology and Artificial Intelligence. Special interest in data science, logistics and literature. Published two children’s books and is specialised in the repair and sales of typewriters. Part of Bookarang’s ML team.
Favourite book: The Magicians , Lev Grossman
Isadora Goudsblom
Book Annotator
True language lover. Studied English Language and Culture at UvA, worked for various publishing houses and as a freelance translator, copywriter and editor for organisations in the cultural sector. Writes Dutch and English poetry.
Favourite book: The Shipping News, Annie Proulx
Lukas Bogacz
Software Engineer
Studied Biochemistry and Microbiology in South Africa, and worked in the field of analytical instrumentation. Spent some time in the US before moving to the Netherlands. Now specializing in machine learning and software engineering which he blogs about.
Favourite book: Das geschenkte Gesicht, H.G. Konsalik
Laura van Eck
Book Annotator
Studied Creative Writing, was poet of the province of Overijssel from 2018-2020, founded an open mic and works as a writer and editor on a project basis. Editor-in-chief of the online literary magazine De Optimist. Writes theater, poetry and prose.
Favourite book: The word for world is forest, Ursula K le Guin