On Wednesday March 15 a festive event at Arubiana, annex of the national library, marked the book launch of Island Life, Aruba’s Best-Kept Diary, a selection of columns written by Rona Coster between 1992 and 2004. The first books were handed to Padu Lampe, father of Aruba’s culture, and Astrid Britten, director of Biblioteca Nacional Aruba, in the presence of about 100 special invitees. The book, a very attractive 200-page hard cover with the look and feel of a diary, marks Rona Coster’s 25th anniversary as a columnist on the island.
“Nobody kept a diary of the island for a quarter of a century as consistently as Rona Coster”, said Karin Swiers, the book’s editor and publisher. “What started as a weekly column on island life grew to become a unique and precious archive, documenting the islands’ peek development years. To preserve this valuable information about a changing island life over the past decades, and to recognize the movers and shakers that helped build and strengthen Aruba’s economy, I wanted to publish this book. For those who were part of history to remember those days and for the next generations and Aruba’s visitors to learn about our islands valuable traditions, movements and contributors.”
The column appeared for the first time under the title Island Life in 1992 in The News, a local English-language newspaper. The Island Life columns were very factual and had a very strong educational undertone. Marking its 25th anniversary the column has become part of Aruba’s history and collective memory. In 2004 Rona Coster received a Journalism CTC Award from the Caribbean Tourism Organization for her contributions and respectable achievements in journalism.
The book Island Life, Aruba’s Best-Kept Diary, is for sale at local bookstores of De Wit & Van Dorp, including their two stores at the airport, at Plaza Book Shop and at Bruna. In the Palm Beach area the book is for sale at various resorts and gift stores: T.H. Palm & Company at Playa Linda, The Bazaar at the Aruba Marriott Resort, The MarketPlace at Marriott’s Surf Club, Shoco Market at Hyatt Regency, Coconuts seaside at Barcelo Resort, Tradewinds at Costa Linda Beach Resort, at RIU Antillas, Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort & Casino and Marriott’s Ocean Club, Pure Indulgence Spa at Divi Phoenix, Indulgence by the Sea Spa at Divi Mega Resorts, and at Taste of Aruba in South Beach Center.
About the author: Rona Coster started her career in Aruba as a marketing executive and produced a weekly column from 1992 – 2015, which then became a daily online column. She is managing director of Marketing Plus, co-founder of Aruba’s lifestyle magazine Island Temptations and co-host of radio show 96.5% Pika on MagicFM. She is the creator of 8 AM Buzz / BatiBleki, a daily column on social media and available as an App on both iPhone and Android platforms, App Name: Bati Bleki.
View more information on Rona’s daily column, Bati Bleki.
