The Kindle Story

Dancing in the Dust on Kindle – I’m glad I bought it.

I bought my first Kindle when I was travelling quite a bit. I learned early in my adventures that I would like to read, but carrying a heavy book on my travels presented a few challenges. My first Kindle (bought nearly 20 years ago) still works – though it is slow and not able to use the latest technology, so I have a second one – smaller and it works well for me.

My Kindles

Most of my reader friends prefer “real books” and I share their love, but the Kindle is much easier to use when travelling. Smaller, easy to read and mine is loaded with books, so I can go back and read something I bought years ago.  And it is not as heavy – it weighs no more if I have one book in my Kindle or 20! All the books from my first Kindle are now on Kindle Number 2 – Kindle Paperwhite – Version 11.

Nurses and the Bush

The last addition to my Kindle collection is a book that resonates with me.  I was a registered nurse and have worked in hospitals and nursing homes around Australia and I have driven around Australia too.  So, I connected well with the new book.

“Dancing in the Dust” was written by Ann Martin, who is a nurse who trained in Brisbane (where I have lived since the 1970s), and in 1967, she and two of her other nursing friends left Brisbane in an old VW Kombi van to travel and work around Australia.

My Story

I completed my nursing training in 1966, in Mt Gambier, South Australia and went to Melbourne where I worked briefly at the Austin Hospital before doing some “private casing”.  I returned to Mt Gambier to do Midwifery training, but the course was cancelled a few days before it was due to start.  I married in 1967, and by 1969 I was back living in Melbourne, with a husband and two toddlers.

As a family, we travelled back and forth from Brisbane to Adelaide (to see my family) and Melbourne (to see my husband’s family) for many years.

My solo travelling around Australia did not start until November 2012 – by which time my marriage had ended and it was travel alone or don’t do it!  I did not set off with friends, but all alone in a Mitsubishi Lancer which was about 1 year old, and it took me nearly five months.

The Book was added to my Kindle

I didn’t look for a new book last week  – I have plenty to read, but somehow, I accidentally found the Kindle version of  “Dancing in the Dust” and when I saw it was about nurses driving around Australia – I just had to have it. Moments later it was added to my Kindle and I started reading and couldn’t put it down.  Within a couple of days, I had completed it.

My Review of “Dancing in the Dust”

It certainly was a fun read and I was impressed that they were able to find work, all three of them, in hospitals in the outback and the tremendous fun they had with their new friends, families around the country and the Kombi van that seemed to be on a route to break every piece of itself.

The travellers visited many of the places I visited, so it helped me revisit much of my journey. I enjoyed that part of their story, though I acknowledge that since 1967 many things have changed – even in some of the outback.

I did find quite a few errors that the editor must have missed.  There were simple things with missing words or letters, which of course irritated me.  Now I know there is usually one error in every book, but I found too many.

Also, I would like to have seen a more interesting biography of the writer, as I have been unable to find out much about her even though she has published several other books.

Some more information about the title

When I Googled the title to learn more about the author, I found that in 2003 there was an award-winning movie also called “Dancing in the Dust”.  There is no book, and I may one day pay to watch the video.  It is a story about an Iranian man, and I am sure if it is in English.

I am interested that the title of Ann’s book is the same as the movie.  I doubt it was intentional, and I wonder if it is a good idea to use a name for a book that is already used? I would choose not to do so.

The trailer for the movie is below.

I do recommend the book – it is an easy read and quite hilarious.  Well done, Ann Martin.

Readers, do you have any comments?