PROPERTY

THE HOTTEST NEW BOOKS TO LOOK OUT FOR THIS YEAR!

2021 promises to be a literary gold mine. Here we take a look at the books have got us excited this year

2020 brought us some fantastic books. Whether it was a non-fiction autobiography such as Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey, or the prequel to the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins or something more political such as A Promised Land, the memoirs of Barack Obama, we were never short of great reads throughout. And this year promises even more.

THE CHARMED WIFE BY OLGA GRUSHIN

Here is a wildly inventive and thoroughly modern retelling of Cinderella, and what happens after she marries Prince Charming. Spoiler, he’s not so charming after all! This book, Grushin’s fourth novel, promises to be a genre-bending and darkly comic affair. Release date: January 12th

A BRIGHT RAY OF DARKNESS BY ETHAN HAWKE

Ethan Hawke isn’t just an Oscar-nominated actor and screenwriter. This is his fifth book in which a 32-yearold thespian’s private life is not so private when he is besieged by journalists at every turn. It is about his possible path to personal and professional redemption and portrays the perils and pratfalls of celebrity perfectly. Release date: February 2nd APATHY BY JONATHAN WHEATLEY Up and coming, British horror writer, Jonathan Wheatley, returns to finish off his Westford Chronicles trilogy. The first two books, The Priory and Vermin were both in the Top 5 British Horror books on Amazon during the summer and the epic conclusion to the gothic, time-travel, creature-feature trilogy promises to be bigger and better. Release date: April 27th

YOU LOVE ME BY CAROLINE KEPNESY Your favourite murderer, Joe from the ‘You’ Netflix series, isn’t quite finished with his story. In this third book the TV series is based on, Joe ditches city life for a simple existence in the Pacific Northwest. There, of course, he gets a job at a library and meets a woman. You know the rest by now. Release date: April 2021

ON YOUR MARKS…

COVID-permitting, 2021 should be an outstanding year of sport

After the famine, comes the feast. The COVID-19 And if you can’t get enough of track and field heroics, the pandemic shredded the global sporting calendar in Paralympians will take centre stage from August 24th 2020 with major events simply binned or shunted to September 5th – also in Japan – while the postponed back to this year which would normally have been fallow, a Invictus Games will be held in the Netherlands from May breathing space between the big competitions. 29th to June 5th.

So, although fingers still remain firmly crossed, 2021 should The other major casualty from last year was football’s be something of a sporting bonanza. European Championship, for the first time spread across 12 The cherry on an adrenalin-charged cake remains the on June 11th with the Group A pipe-opener Italy v Turkey in summer Olympic Games, slated to run from July 23rd to Rome and finish with the final at Wembley on July 11th. August 8th in Tokyo. It is quite simply the greatest show on Earth, a glittering showpiece commanding eye-watering Wales and Switzerland complete that group – they play figures for advertising and commercial rights, played out on June 12th in Baku – while England’s Group D campaign before a worldwide television audience of billions. starts on June 13th at Wembley against Croatia, who beat This year there will be no Usain Bolt, the charismatic Jamaican sprinter So, although It doesn’t get any easier for Gary Southgate’s team. whose name became synonymous with world records and gold medals. He retired in 2017 leaving the fingers still remain firmly crossed, Scotland await on June 18th - a Friday night appetiser for a long weekend in London for the Tartan Army - before they finish against the Czech Republic four Olympic throne vacant for a suitable 2021 should be days later. successor … and that could be Team something of a GB’s swimming superstar sporting bonanza. Golf’s Ryder Cup was also COVID-affected and had to Adam Peaty. be rescheduled (it’s now at the wonderfully-named Much is expected of the 26 year-old 50 and 100metre while elsewhere other events, hopefully, return to their breaststroke ace, who is the Olympic champion at the normal slots: Rugby’s 6Nations running from February 6th latter – the first Briton to strike gold in the pool for 24 to March 20th; the Cheltenham Festival (March 16th-19th), years. He is also an eight-time world champion, a 12-time World Snooker Championship (April 17th-May 3rd) and European champion and has broken world records 13 Wimbledon (June 28th-July 11th). times, and was the first man to swim under 26sec for the countries instead of one host nation. It is scheduled to start them in extra time in the World Cup semi-final in 2018. Whistling Straits in Wisconsin in late September) 50m breaststroke and both 58 and 57sec for the longer In fact, the only event which is not in its normal place is distance. the Boat Race. Oxford and Cambridge Universities will now lock oars on the Great Ouse at Ely in April instead of the Put simply, he is the one to beat and if he is not a Thames because of structural problems at household name now, he will be by the middle of August. Hammersmith Bridge.