from your use description, you'd probably be happier on a CX/ Gravel bike... with taller front gearing and no suspension fork.. those lower end forks that your Giant was fitted with are HEAVY and eat up pedaling force.
this time of year can be a good time to shop for a bike... whether you buy now or not..
prices drop as the weather gets gray and cold...
take some time to learn basic maintinence on the Giant... you'll need some bike-specific tools like 13mm and 15mm Axle Cone Wrenches, a Freewheel remover tool, and some decent 8" side cutters for cables/housings... a set of nice allen wrenches(i use the longer Craftsman ones with the ball end on the long side) and some metal bicycle tire irons will also come oin handy(I find that the plastic ones are a cruel joke and break easily)... a good chain pin remover too.. the smaller Park Tool model suits me, but others like the bigger ones because of the larger handles... and a Good Tire Pump with a built-in gauge.. Topeak and Silca come to mind.. i use a twice-rebuilt Topeak Joe Blow pump... it's seen two decades of frequent use.
if it seems that we give too much info on here, it's mostly because many more folks will read this thread after it's completed... they may not possess the same levels of info....
and i apologise for the inter-responder bickering that goes on... there's an overabundance of type-a personalities amongst competitive folks... i ran the start line at a very famous National MX Track for several years... EVERY PERSON on that starting line was a Type-A... ALL of them... including me.
and the older i get, the faster i was.
my best tool was to get them Really spun up, ...then turn and walk away... and sometimes i'd act like i'd seen something Terribly wrong on their bike, then walk away...." oh duuuude! that looks bad! oh well.....".. staring at nothing in particular..