I've found audiobooks are great when I'm just trying to absorb facts. Any kind of popular history or science book is great on audio because my attention can fade in and out and I'll still pick up useful facts. Big ideas/concepts can be communicated this way as well since the main points are repeated over and over in most books. But I can't at all learn methods, complex arguments or skills or math from audiobooks. It's too difficult to do the pausing and rewinding I'd need to do given my attention span. And for a lot of these things visual aids are essential.