Bookspotting and Listening

I'll have an unusually large number of projects "out" over the next few weeks. I'm preparing some work to read with my critique groups and I have a few pieces of writing on submission with various editors. It's a little nerve-wracking to have so many people reading, considering, and judging my writing at the same time. Whether I'm looking for feedback to improve or answers about whether or not my work is good enough to publish, I plan to do a lot of listening. I have a tendency to become super focused on plans and goals. However, I also need to listen to the advice and outside perspectives of others and adjust my plans accordingly. Do you ever get so focused on your goals that you forget to listen and be flexible? Do you have any advice for someone who kinda likes to do things her own way?

In bookspotting news, I've spotted the same woman on three different mornings reading Walking Home from Mongolia by Rob Lilwall. I spotted a kid reading The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford on his way up an escalator in Central. Another young boy was reading what looked like a Harry Potter book, but I couldn't tell for sure. Yesterday, I spotted a man reading the same Kindle I have (grey 3rd generation keyboard). This morning, a woman on the train was reading Diana: Her Last Love by Kate Snell. 

I just started The Wives: The Women Behind Russia's Literary Giants by Alexandra Popoff. If you haven't heard the story of Anna and Fyodor Dostoevsky, you need to start Googling ASAP...or buy this book. I first heard their story from my Dostoevsky professor and it remains one of the most memorable things I learned in college.

What are people reading in your town lately? How about you?