One can pauze audiobooks but I would guess that audiobook listeners do not pauze the book as often as readers pauze to ponder a point, think about how it relates to the rest of their knowledge and experience, try and find an example or a counter-example etc. I often pauze when reading when something I read does not sit right with me. I try to think about why I'm having this reaction. Similarly when something resonates much in a positive sense. I probably interrupt the process of reading a little too much with this kind of meta analysis, and getting side-tracked or going off on tangents (i write these up sometimes. can take a while to finish a book if there's many of these) but a little of this seems to me to be a good thing. And it seems to me that with audiobooks this kind of thing perhaps does not happen as much as would be desirable because the default is for it to keep playing. It seems to me that listening to books is a more passive process that conditions the consumer more towards being in the passenger seat. Could be off on this.

There's probably benefits as well as downsides when comparing listening to books versus reading them. I'm unclear as to the "net effects" And now that I think about it one could listen to books in a way that one could easily pauze and have a similar process of following up on occurring thoughts and feelings