As an example, I love the Martian, and I think a lot of older books from authors like Asimov are heavily into engineering / competence porn. Other favs in this category include the standalone novel Rendezvous with Rama to leave you wishing for more, most of the Culture series for happy utopian vibes, Schlock Mercenary for humor, Dahak series for fun mindless popcorn.
Edit: I’m so happy to have found a replacement for r/books and the rest of them.
It’s a brilliant book, though I have yet to read the sequel. Can’t recommend it enough.
Isn’t that funny — me too. I’m not sure why I keep putting it off. Perhaps because it was finished by another author… the guy who wrote “They’re Made of Meat.” His name escaped me presently.