Weekly Writers: Verso And Recto

Knowing your lefts and rights

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In an ebook you generally only see one page at a time – the one you are reading. But a print book uses paper, and the sheets of paper have two sides. When you open a book out (called the spread) you are therefore looking at two pages: one on the left, one on the right. In printing terms, the page you see on the left of the double spread is the verso, and the page on the right is the recto. Recto means “right”, and verso means “back” – so the verso is always the back of a recto.

It’s easy to create a mnemonic to help you remember, e.g. Value Reading! = verso recto; or just remember recto = right, and verso = the reverse, or the back of the recto. Verso pages are always even numbers, and recto pages are always odd numbers.

The very first page of the book will only have the recto on the right, and the interior of the cover on the left. When you turn the page you will reach your first double spread with the recto on the right and verso on the left.