As you get used to it you can listen to audiobooks faster and faster while understanding the story (many blind people can easily go as high as 5-6×, sighted people tend to cap lower).

You can try bumping up speed by 0.25 increments, some people find it easier to understand audiobooks slightly faster [edit: you can try slowing it, too]. But I think it's more more important to find something that has a good narrator who matches the book, speaks clearly, and emotes well. (English as a second language here, the narrator makes a huge difference for me.)