>..but anyone felt similarly?

You are far, far from the only person who thinks art in general and reading specifically is too much effort and a waste of time because it's not "practical." In fact, I imagine it's the dominant view.

>often the writers step in so much with their words, expressions and writing habits so I can feel ‘humans’ hiding in the background very easily.

What you seem to be describing is authorial voice and good prose. For literary readers, that's a major draw of reading—it's the literary equivalent of enjoying acting and beautiful drawings in movies and television shows.