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I love audiobooks, but I just can't sit on chair in my living room listening to one, or try to do the housework while listening. In both instances, my mind doesn't stay focused on the narration.
However, I've found that listening to audiobooks is extremely interesting when I am driving because my focus is restricted to the road so I'm able to concentrate on what I am hearing. I've done 6-hour drives listening to audiobooks all the way. It also works well at night when I'm in bed - because it's dark and my eyes are closed so there are no distractions. Ditto when I'm lying in the sun on the beach.
I don't have any problem with women doing men's voices and vice-versa. I actually prefer when the narrator does attempt to give the characters some individuality, other than a straight reading. It does sound odd to the ear for the first book or two, but after that - especially if the reader is a good one - I have to stop and remember that it is a person of the opposite gender doing the voice. I've got some Georgette Heyer novels on audio that are narrated by men who do dowager voices to perfection.
I think the best way to get used to an audiobook is to listen to one that's of a book that's already familiar and a favorite. You know the main story already, but having someone else read it places different emphases on actions and comments within the story which can result in a slightly different experience of it. Also, by listening you are constrained to hearing all of the words the author wrote - descriptive sentences and paragraphs that you might have skimmed over without realizing it when you actually read the book, which again gives you a fuller experience of the story.
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