Anybody have tips/tricks for listening to audio books? I lose focus and have to rewind way too much.

Check audio books out from the library. Then you have a deadline. Find a good reader and author. Some books just aren't that good. Frank Muller is an excellent reader. Margurite Gavin is also excellent reading Dana Stabenow's books.

I'm busy during the day, so I can't listen to audiobooks without constantly stopping or losing focus because I have other things to do. So I only listen when I have long stretches of available time.

I go to bed and start listening till I fall asleep. I listened to 8 books last year this way. Sometimes, if the book is particularly good or exciting, I end up staying awake all night which is good and bad depending on your schedule, mood etc.

I eventually I fall asleep, so I set a timer on iPod to stop playing after X minutes so I can easily pick up where I left off the next day.

If you keep losing focus, it means you picked a bad book or the reader is not good, which is very rare for me (i'm not picky). Picking interesting books is key.

Great advice!
I have found that I cannot have anything else going (Ex., Editing photos) or I miss dialogue. I'm almost forced to close my eyes at my desk and do nothing else. Strange thing is, the book I'm trying to get through right now, which I'm struggling to listen to, I think I'd really like to read it! I may just break down and buy it.

Check reviews & samples for good readers. I like apps that let me adjust the speed and have a 30-sec quick rewind button.

Right now I’m listening to Melville’s Typee for a class, and it’s...verbose, but Audiobooks is a decent app. On the other hand, I love listening to This American Life via podcast, but using the slider to rewind is excruciating.

CDs can be tricky to rewind, but since my library has great selections on CD, I convert them to mp3s then upload to my Kindle or phone.

I've listened to mp3 lectures and interviews (for school) that were far from riveting, and I can tell you it’s absolutely a skill that will improve if you use it! (A weekly podcast is good practice; they are short and new each week.)