Question to avid readers: Do you really read all the elaborate description of the 'setting' in fiction?

I'm with Steve (yet again). I consider "long long descriptions of the geography, the location, the ambience, the weather and so on" a huge negative and try not to select books that have this.

In most cases, the reader does not need to envision the setting (or a character, or a car, or anything else) exactly as the author does. If the author simply tells me "tract house in the desert" it doesn't really matter if I envision a Sonoran desert or Coloradan, or a single-story or split-level house.

I'm also a fan of working in detail within the context of something happening. If I have a guy being chased by zombies, or a woman walking her dog before work, what each sees, stumbles over, pulls the mutt away from, or hides behind can tell me all I need to know about setting.

Depends how long...

I'm sorry to say I've developed a bad habit of skimming to look for action or parts I'm interested in (some fantasy authors enjoy including long speeches between the villain and his henchman at random intervals, while we're more interested in what happened to the hero). Description can be difficult for me to get through...

I feel like I'm cheating myself a lot, it may take me less time to read something but I'm missing out on some parts. When I'm reading a more difficult book I'm kind of forced to read every word.

Ehh, well, point is, you should have a good balance of dialogue/action/description, but not too much or too little.

Of course, it was written so you can picture the setting. There's nothing worse than having a reader picture a setting comletely contrary to what you plan. However, I tend to skim them, still taking in all the information but not taking years to read. I prefer to read description when it's dispersed throughout more useful passages though.

I also try to write with this in mind.

Depends on th book. If it's a really interesting story I take the time to build the image in my head. Other wise I just skip through pretty easily....

It can also depend, I guess, on the authors writing. Some write descriptions that catch your eye and make you think, others just.....don't. I like the ones that do.

I'm only interested if it's unusual - for example, a musical city made entirely of ice unicorn sculptures floating on the back of a glittering golden turtle inside a volcano. Otherwise, something along the lines of, 'In the evening, she ate soup in a linoleum-floored Italian restaurant to ward off the cold outside' will usually suffice.

I think it is necessary to have those descriptions, but I sometimes will skim them (usually, I try to read them, especially if they seem vital or interesting!)

I try not to read books that have lots of long descriptions.

Of course!

I have nothing but contempt for people who just skip entire paragraphs!

yes because its there to help you picture the setting.