1. Make Lists 2. Read Lists 3. Make More Lists

Here are my five favorite things about this sentence: (1) It grabs your attention, (2) It keeps you guessing, (3) It's not overly wordy, (4) It's something you might forward to friends, (5) It's part of the list-making trend that just keeps growing.

The New York Times sent subscribers an email on August 11 promoting "12 new books our editors liked" and "10 best new recipes." There was also a r...