NEWS: Sale extended

And with that in mind, the Christmas sale of Once Were Radicals: My Years As A Teenage Islamo-fascist has been extended to Christmas.

Yep. That's right. Until Christmas.

If you live in Australia, you only have limited time to have a copy of the book mailed to your door for a mere price of

Now that is cheap.

So hurry as this offer ends on 7 January 2011.

Surely the extension of this amazing offer calls for a celebratory drink.

E-mail oncewereradicals@gmail.com for more details and to place your order.

BOOK: Special Christmas deal on Once Were Radicals ...

Once Were Radicals: My Years As A Teenage Islamo-Fascist is an award-winning comic memoir by Irfan Yusuf.

The book has received some rave reviews:

... Yusuf explains the complexity of Middle Eastern culture and its history in lively, simple language. Added to accessibility is laugh-out-loud humour, as he pokes fun at John Howard’s national security fridge magnets ... (Sun Herald)

... this witty, astutely written and compelling memoir ... Often laugh-out-loud funny ... Using a curiously effective combination of caustic intellect and irreverent humour to relay and analyse his experiences ...(Courier Mail)

Like Mark Twain, Yusuf reinforces some of his stronger views with a wry and occasionally laugh-aloud view of human foible. And it is Twain who actually brings us to the book’s recurring counterpoint. Like the spirited offspring of sane and loving parents the world over, by the story’s end Yusuf has travelled old Sam Clemens’s full circle of discovery. (Canberra Times)

Yusuf’s frequently amusing account of his intellectual development, interspersed with healthy doses of (possibly retrospective) irreverence ... (The Australian)

What happens if you are a true-blue Aussie with an accent like Slim Dusty, but your name is Irfan Yusuf and everyone assumes you’re a terrorist? Very funny and well worth reading. (WarCry)

Now, you can grab a copy of this book for Chanukah/Christmas/Eid/Muharram/Noparticularreason.



And if you live in Australia, the total cost of this book for you will be ... wait for it ...

$20

That includes postage anywhere in Australia and GST.

I know what you all want to say to that offer ...



This unbelievable offer ends 31 December 2010. For more details, e-mail oncewereradicals@gmail.com.

UPDATE I: We are happy to entertain overseas orders, which will cost A$18 plus postage. We will not charge GST for export orders.

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REVIEW: Once Were Racists: My Years as a Teenage Blasphemer ...

It's hard not to sympathise with the plight of young Kuranda Seyfi Seyit. The poor fellow failed to secure a seat on Auburn Council, despite expecting to receive the bulk of Turkish voters' support. Making matters worse for himself, Mr Seyit spat the dummy and blamed his loss on a cabal of kebab meat manufacturers and committee members of the Auburn Gallipoli Mosque, accusing the latter of being anti-secular. He even took his allegations to the ABC, and made his own party look ... well ... not exactly Muslim-friendly. Not a great look in a local government area that has the highest concentration of Muslims of any local government area in the country.

The disappointed Council candidate is npw trying his hand at book reviews. Writing in the third edition of his Aussie Mossie newspaper, aptly named in honour of a now-defunct blog of yours trully, Mr Seyit applies his skills in literary criticism to a certain irreverent memoir. His conclusion? That the author is a BLASPHEMER ...

This book [is] by novice writer Irfan Yusuf ... However, after forcing myself to read the book I found it irreverent, blasphemous and racist especially towards Turks and Lebanese ...

(Click here to read the full review on page 16.)

Wow! Ayatollah Seyfi has issued a fatwa against me for blasphemy!! What will happen to me now? Will Seyfi lead a bunch of blokes in a public stoning? It all sounds like something out of Monty Python ...



Still, who am I to complain about a review that is trully out of this world?



Words © 2009 Irfan Yusuf


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BOOK: Only 5 days 'till "Once Were Radicals" is published!!!

My first (and, God-willing, not last) book Once Were Radicals will be published on Monday 4 May 2009. For a short time only, you can read an excerpt from the book here.

There are a number of events happening this month to coincide with the book's publication. On Monday night, the book is being launched by the Hon Laurie Ferguson at Granville in the heart of his electorate.



Details of that launch can be found here.

There will aoso be a launch held in Canberra with ABC TV newsreader and award-winning journalist Virginia Haussegger.



That event will take place on Sunday afternoon, 31 May 2009. Details of that event can be found here.



There will also be an event at Gleebooks in Glebe on Wednesday 13 May 2009, at which I'll be in conversation with author, journalist and blogger Antony Loewenstein.



There are also two events for next month's Sydney Writers' Festival.

The first event will be at the Riverside Theatres, Cnr Church and Market Streets Parramatta when I will be in conversation with Brendan Phelan, Associate of NewMatilda.com.



For more details click here.

The second event will be in Sydney on Saturday afternoon, 23 May 2009 at the Sydney Philharmonia Choir Studio, Pier 4/5, Walsh Bay. Click here for more details.

I'll be somewhat busy during the next month or so, and it's unlikely I'll be blogging much here.