Former journalist and Ohio native Joanne Huist Smith heeds the age-old advice to “write what you know” and delivers a personal memoir about the “hap-happiest time of the year” when so many people struggle with sadness and loss. In The 13th Gift, Smith writes about facing Christmas with her three children just a few months after their father’s death. Her story is sweet, kind, and hopeful–three things I always like to feel, especially at the holidays.

As Christmas approaches, Smith can’t bring herself to decorate, buy gifts, or celebrate at all. Her loss is too fresh and too large. Left on her own, she’d ignore Christmas and all its eager good cheer this year even though she typically celebrates with zest. But she is not left to herself. Some “true friends” coax the family into the holiday spirit with a unique take on the 12 days of Christmas. Small, anonymous gifts appear on the family’s doorstep each day, building on the 12 days theme. It is a sweet distraction, a little mystery, and a gentle insistence that kindness and caring are there for us even in our saddest times.

Smith’s memoir reads like a novel, and I had to remind myself that it is a true story. Kind strangers really did go out of their way to help her family, and that truth is what makes this short book worth reading.

“I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.”

Let yourself be reminded, today and everyday, that the 13th Gift is powerful, abundant, and real.

Every time we use our phones, our computers, our cars, our MP3 devices, our credit cards, our wearable fitness devices, etc. we are pouring buckets of data out into the world. If this is a well-known fact for you, and you’ve used this kind of data in your work, then Dataclysm will not be a revelation to you. However, if you are skeptical or uncertain about the amount of data we’re creating, how it is being used, and especially “who we are when we think no one’s looking” then this book is a must-read for you.Author Christian Rudder helped found the dating website OK Cupid, and he uses that data to share some surprising patterns and preferences gleaned from profiles and communications there. Rudder is clearly a data geek who is excited about all the things he can learn from the information not only at OK Cupid but from Facebook, Twitter, etc. His storytelling and number crunching skills help readers see the patterns and predictions that are “hidden in plain sight” in our data.I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.