Free boots and mattresses

Amazon reviews, mattress-flippers, millennials, data, and why I've wound up with the same boots five times in a row. Also, 7 other things worth a click.

It's weird being a writer.

Case in point, I have a friend and former colleague named Melissa. She's talented, acclaimed, fun to read, and wrote a big bestseller called The Girl's Guide to Absolutely Everything back in 2006.

But then, she hit a rut. How did she get out of it? By writing an Amazon review, of all things. This one: "Mattress is hard & hot, b…