My reading tastes run almost exclusively to Mystery - however, in that I include novels by Mary Stewart, Daphne du Maurier, and M.M. Kaye, who are usually categorized under Gothic Romance (well, maybe not the latter).
I enjoy vivid description - especially of places, as I think the scenery can almost be a character in and of itself, and the location of story will be the difference between me picking a book up or leaving it on the library or bookstore shelf.
Because I appreciate description, my writing includes a lot of it, something that's not everyone's cup of tea, and I try hard to balance it out (not always successfully).