Nothing catches my attention like a list. If somebody lists the ten most noxious plants, I will go to that list and read it.
In more practical terms, in an area of interest, if somebody creates a list of , say, the best and worst of the American Civil War, it’s not only fascinating and controversial but often helpful too. A book you’ve never heard of, a memoir you own but never read, a general you revere who gets panned or vica versa, a battle site you’ve never visited, a museum you’ve never stopped at. All of these possibilities emerge from lists. So I plan lists and lots of them. Lists of the best (or worst as the case may be) CW generals, mapmakers, maps, decisions, weapons, politicians, strategists, battles, songs, diaries, memoirs, regimental histories, sites, quotations, sites, collections, most overlooked, most underrated, most misunderstood…all in an essentially personal, very subjective way.
And occasionally off-topic lists. e.g. all the different American place names in the songs of Chuck Berry and Bob Dylan. You’re only young once but you’re only old once too.
