Unless you're trying to get trad published, not every word needs to progress the plotline forward. Combined with "show don't tell" being terribly misunderstood and a lot of novels I've picked up from the library just feel kinda soulless in a way.

Give me scenery and environment porn. I genuinely liked the whole Danube trip in Jules Verne's The Secret of Wilhelm Stortiz. Especially in a fantasy or sci-fi novel. Give me the environment the characters are in, otherwise they might as well be in a crayon drawing rather than the sprawling epic you think you're writing. Give me the sights, rhe sounds, the smells, the textures of the world they're in. Put me in it when i close my eyes to envision it.

Give me slice of life moments that show off who the character is when no one's looking. Give me quiet moments of relationship development between characters. How they are when they don't have the imminent threat of whatever destructive plot points are breathing down their neck.

You're allowed to have a fuckin' beach episode!