Is this a common way to list items?

Solution 1:

You can write it:

And so he does with other solids, such as a shell, nut, plum, pear, tadpole, mushroom, mountain peak, kidney, carrot, tree-trunk, bird, bud, lark, ladybird, bulrush or (and) bone.

So, you need to include:

• "He does," because without the verb, it's not a sentence
• "Other," because you specifically mention the egg is solid, so there are other solids
• Comma before "such" to separate the non-defining clause
• "Or" or "and" before the last item, because this is the common way to list items

You can exclude "a" before each item, except before the first. You don't need a comma before the last "or" or "and."

You could join the two sentences with a semicolon; in this case, you can omit "he does." You can keep all the "a's" to make an emphasis on each item. You can omit "or" or"and" at the end. This way, it sounds more "dramatic." This is how you could write it in a story, rather than just in "a report."

He must, for example, perceive an egg as a simple single solid shape, quite apart from its significance as food, or from the literary idea that it will become a bird; and so with other solids, such as a shell, a nut, a plum, a pear, a tadpole, a mushroom, a mountain peak, a kidney, a carrot, a tree-trunk, a bird, a bud, a lark, a ladybird, a bulrush, a bone.