Rhodia Reverse Book

When I first saw the Rhodia Reverse Book, I couldn't figure it out. Obviously you could use it differently than a standard grid notebook, either with the ring binder to the left or at the top and that would effect the way you took notes. But that didn't seem like much to me, so I basically used it as a left-sided-ring notebook.

But I realized I was missing something by not trying it out as both a left= and top-sided-ring notebook, and started playing around. The side nearest the cappuccino (my own personal North Star) is written as with the ring on the left, the bottom side with the ring on the top (I had to blur the writing).

Good, but I wasn't really rushing to use the Reverse Book as anything but a traditional notebook, usually with the ring on the left. I was constantly turning pages back trying to find my notes, and getting frustrated.

Then one day I figured out how to use this to the best of its (and my) ability: when the ring binder is at the top, life up the page you would be writing on and start on the back of that page at the top first, writing down the full page. Then turn the page over and start on that page as your second page, again starting from the top.

What I found is that I could read my notes quickly and more easily by having the pages turn in a specific way, which just seemed to help me find what I needed more quickly. Weird, huh? But with that one little quirk, the Rhodia Reverse Book has now become my favorite notebook for all my current work projects.

I do like the paper, obviously, and the violet-colored grid design is great. I would like to see a blank Reverse Book, as the grid lines sometimes interfere with looking at the words. If you have one but are frustrated like I was, take a moment to go over the Book's layout and figure out the best way to use it. It's really worth the extra effort.