Chandler Baker Recommends 9 Audiobooks For People Who Can't Find the Time to Read More

The women in Chandler Baker's novels all struggle with "having it all." Take Nora, the protagonist of The Husbands, a modern send-up of The Stepford Wives out August 3. She's balancing the demands of her job as a personal injury lawyer and her role as a mom. As she counts down to the birth of her second child, she wonders: How can she keep going at this pace? The characters in Whisper Network, who take a stand against a predatory CEO, are similarly pressed.

With these thrillers inspired by real life, Baker explores dynamics that she experienced while working as a corporate lawyer. "It's been cathartic," Baker says. "I started as a YA writer, and something I've loved is getting to explore where I am in my life right now, getting to process in real time." Her novels' premises are often inspired by talks she has with friends and readers who feel they have to do it all. "I'm trying to speak through my books as if I'm having like a long conversation with my girlfriends," she says.

Until becoming a full-time writer, Baker split her time as an attorney, mother-of-two, and novelist. In fact, she wrote her novels in 15-minute chunks throughout her day. "If I was consistent, that could equal a book," she says.

Amid all this, Baker struggled to find time to read. "I was always a big reader, but I read a ton for my day job and I wrote all day. I felt like my eyeballs were coming out of my head by the end of the day, and I couldn't do it," she admits. The solution came in the form of audiobooks, which she put on while doing chores or driving. "Any time I'm doing anything, I'm listening to audiobooks."

Now, Baker listens to about two audiobooks a week, though sometimes more. She gravitates toward memoirs, narrative nonfiction, or humorous essays. She especially enjoys essays narrated by their authors, or books read by compelling performers; Tamara Lovett Smith, Allison Ryan, and Julia Whalen are among her favorites. Though it might sound extreme, she has quite the trick to audiobook-bingeing: She listens on 3x speed. "I say it's like getting into a hot bath. It feels really, really, unbearably hot at first. But if you just stay in it a little while, you get used to it," she says.

Below, Baker shares a few of her favorite audiobooks for people looking to fit reading into their busy days.