Strategies for Libby when you want to read a long book

I LOVE Libby — I shall start by saying that. This is by no means meant to downplay how awesome it is.

But managing the queue has felt a bit like a chore, and I wanted to know if y'all more experienced Libby uses have developed a strategy.

I mostly use Libby for audiobooks, and I like long books. However, my library only allows 7 days for poplar books. When you have a 28 hour audiobook– well…. finishing it would become a chore, because at minimum, you'd have to listen to 4 hours a day.

Here's my problem: I know the common strategies — listen while you do dishes, listen on commutes, etc. etc. I already know that. But planning to listen that much every single day for four hours minimum makes reading feel like a job. I do not want my hobby to feel like a job. I want to listen when I can fully enjoy it. Making sure I map out reading times feels like optimizing the fun out of reading.

That inevitably means the rental will lapse, and with popular books, it may be another two months before I can get it again.

If there is anyone out there with a similar struggle, what strategies do you take? Do you take notes so it's easier to pick back up in a few months? Do you just carry on listening and hope you remember relevant details?

My personal solution hasn't been great – I've just purchased it from audible where I can listen at my own pace, but I really want to use the library more.