Still searching for a last-minute holiday gift? These NoVA actors, authors, and musicians have you covered. Whether you have a history lover for your office’s secret Santa or need a present for a budding melomaniac, these new releases will look perfect under the tree.
BOOK
Going There by Katie Couric
The hottest read of the season has proven to be this surprisingly warts-and-all memoir by Couric, the Arlington native who graduated from Yorktown High School and the University of Virginia. Her not-always-friendly treatment of female colleagues, her treatment at the hands of male ones, those sympathetic texts to Matt Lauer—America’s Sweetheart lays it all out in unflinching detail.
MOVIE
The Unforgivable
Sandra Bullock, who also hails from Arlington, stars in this gritty drama about a woman convicted of murder who is released from prison and searches for the little sister she left behind. The film, which co-stars Vincent D’Onofrio and Viola Davis, hits Netflix December 10.
BOOK
Out of the Water by Ann Marie Stewart
Five generations of secrets, stretching from the cliffs of Ireland to the streets of Boston to 1981 Seattle, unravel in this novel from a Leesburg author. The recent release has already prompted raves from best-selling authors like Jacquelyn Mitchard, who penned The Deep End of the Ocean.
BOOK
111 Places in Women’s History in Washington, DC, That You Must Not Miss by Kaitlin Calogera and Rebecca Grawl
Two tour guides (Calogera, who lives in DC, and Grawl, who lives in Fairfax) track down intriguing spots not found in most travel books. Explore the meaning behind the names on street signs and buildings, and discover where the history of America’s Founding Mothers has been left unmarked.
ALBUM
Dazy by Freddy Hall
This indie/pop singer and songwriter from Lorton—he was a Hayfield High School grad, class of ’03—named Dazy’s final song, “Dayton St.,” after the street he grew up on. He cites The Killers, Beck, and Amy Winehouse as major influences, along with greats like Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell. The release party for his third studio album is December 12 at Jammin Java in Vienna.
This story originally ran in our December issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to our monthly magazine.