It’s a universe that, if you really want to, you can get obsessed with it.
I do agree they are fairly easy reads
Personally that's exactly what I look for in popcorn (well, honey mustard pretzel) books. Something I can read easily and not have to think about, but if I chose to, there's more hidden there. I know "popcorn book" is often used to kind of write something off but for me it's not like that.
I actually read them all along with a friend and we discussed a lot of what was in them, our thoughts about the implications of the stuff (being vague to avoid spoilers for others), how accurate the science actually was (he was a Kerbal nerd and I did jet propulsion sim work ages ago), and what other life might actually look like and different moral frameworks (I'm a utilitarian, and I think he is more deontological so was an interesting discussion).
I just could also see a world where I binged them by a lake in a week and never thought about them again while move on to House of Leaves (which is the exact opposite of a popcorn book and required actual homework).