From the first chapters of The Good Earth, to the part in Pillars of the Earth where Prior Phillip takes over Kingsbridge priory, to the protagonist taking care of Mr Bowditch in Fairytale… I have always found these portions of books to be soothing and eminently re-readable during tough times.
I don’t know if there’s a better term for what I am describing. I hope this makes sense. It’s the literary equivalent to those rug washing videos lol.
What are your favourites?
Judge Dee The Chinese Maze Murders, by Robert van Gulik. The magistrate Dee comes to his new post to find the town taken over by hoodlums. He has to solve many mysteries and get the town and government working correctly. Can you say ‘Marshall Dillon!!’ - this judge is shrewd and does not jump to conclusions.
The Little House series has a lot of this. I found the process of melting lead to make bullets for hunting in Little House in the Big Woods especially satisfying.
River of Doubt is non-fiction, but the way the author goes into detail about how the rainforest was formed over millions of years of evolution was really captivating.
The Life of Pi is probably about half this kind of content. Boy is lost at sea for months with a lifeboat and a handful of supplies (and animals).
Robinson Crusoe is similarly an isolation/survival story where the protagonist has to build a bunch of stuff.