how to alphabetize in Pages when not a table

You use the “Sort Lines Ascending” service in the free WordService services collection from the OS X App Store.

You have a vertical stack of items, each terminated with a return, that you want to sort. You select the entire list, and then in an eye-blink, you sort it in place using Pages application menu : Services : WordService: Sort Lines Ascending.

Quit Pages.

When you download WordService from the OS X App Store, it will install its various Services, but not enable them. You find the one(s) that you want enabled in System Preferences : Keyboard panel : Shortcuts tab: Services (scroll down in the right panel listings)

Open your document in Pages, select your list, and you will find the capability to sort your items alphabetically now exists as described above.

What specific version of Pages, and OS X/macOS are you using?

In Pages v6.2 on macOS Sierra, I can duplicate the issue that you describe about the entire line becoming bold, and it would appear that years of not upgrading the WordService product is taking its toll.

Place your insertion beam in front of the second word in each sorted line, and press shift+command+right_arrow to select to the end of that line. Then press command+B to set that text selection to normal text again.

This worked well, but it unified all the formatting - made all the font bold instead of the first words of each line like I had it in Pages.

I am using the latest publ version of macOS Sierra in the latest version of Pages