WHATEVER ABOUT THE towering boxsets, the barely-thumbed-through tomes you picked up in the previous year, and the cinema releases you’ve yet to catch up with on DVD, get ready for a new onslaught of cultural experiences in 2014.

To help you make your way through what’s coming down the line, we’ve handpicked some choices for you, based on your tastes last year.

TV

If you watched Borgen (or The Killing)… then you’ll watch The Bridge in 2014

(Nimbus Film/YouTube)

• It perhaps didn’t get as much attention as other Danish series did, but season one of The Bridge was fantastic detective telly. Season 2 airs on BBC 4 this month. There’s also 1864, set in the Denmark of (you guessed it) 1864, and the Swedish series Crimes of Passion.

If you loved Girls… then you’ll want to watch Orange is the New Black in 2014

(Netflix/YouTube)

• This prison dramedy will be into its second season, reportedly airing this spring, so there’s time to catch up with S1 on Netflix. Meanwhile, we eagerly await the third season of Girls – it premieres in the US on 12 January.

If you miss Breaking Bad… then start watching True Detective in 2014

(TVSeriesPreviews/YouTube)

• Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson journey onto the small screen for this HBO series about a cold-case murder investigation. There’s no meth involved (we think), sorry.

If you loved Love/Hate… watch Amber in 2014

(BeyondHomeEntertain/YouTube)

• Amber examines what happens when a teenage girl goes missing. Meanwhile, Love/Hate is back for its fourth series this year, Quirke is a thriller starring Gabriel Byrne, and Vikings looks to be a bloody good watch.

CINEMA

If you loved In A World… then you’ll love The Grand Budapest Hotel in 2014

(FoxSearchlight/YouTube)

• Kooky, dreamy, and funny, it’s Wes Anderson’s latest, due out in March.

If you hated Django Unchained… then you’ll prefer 12 Years A Slave in 2014

(JoBlo.com/YouTube)

• The disturbing true story of former slave Solomon Northup is taken on by British director Steve McQueen in this searing big-budget film, starring our own Michael Fassbender.

If you loved Blue Jasmine … then you’ll enjoy Inside Llewyn Davis in 2014

(ENTV/YouTube)

• The Coen brothers are back – recognise Drive’s Oscar Isaac in the title role as a folk singer trying to make it in 1960s-era Greenwich Village? See also: The Monuments Men, The Stag, Charlie Countryman, and Her.

MUSIC

If you listened to Hozier… then you’ll want to hear The Gloaming in 2014

(Samuel Bishop/YouTube)

• It’s an Irish supergroup, and might kick-start a love affair with Irish traditional music for those who have previously bypassed it. (We figure Hozier fans will love the drama that trad brings with it).

If you got tired of Miley Cyrus… then you’ll love Charli XCX in 2014

(officialcharlixcx/YouTube)

• Spunkier, songs that trounce Cyrus’s efforts, and without a twerk in sight.

If you loved Villagers… then listen to James Vincent McMorrow in 2014

(jamesvmcmorrow/YouTube)

• He’s Irish, and his second album is going to make him an international name, mark our words.

BOOKS

If you read Alex Ferguson's autobiography... then read Elk Stopped Play by Charlie Connelly in 2014

• Even those with only a cursory knowledge of cricket are likely to enjoy Connelly's latest - he's an incredibly witty writer who looks at sport from a new angle. It's due out on Bloomsbury in March. Alternatively, try Sport in Ireland, 1600 - 1840 by Jimmy Kelly.

If you couldn't put down The Spinning Heart... then pick up From Out of the City by John Kelly in 2014

• The broadcaster and writer releases his latest novel, said to be about a US president who is assassinated during a visit to Dublin, in May on Dalkey Archive Press.

If you re-read For Whom the Bell Tolls (or any Hemingway classic)... then grab Mrs Hemingway by Naomi Wood in 2014

• Wood looks at the married life of the famous author's four wives in this book, released by Picador in February.

What books, films, tv shows, albums or otherwise are you looking forward to in 2014? Tell us in the comments.

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