The recently late Susan Sontag said that reading literature educates our feelings. As opposed to our minds, I suppose. Whether she was right or not, and whether that is too limiting, I leave to each of our interpretation. As far as it goes, I think she has a point that is related (in my own mind at least) to Tolkien's own theory of Escape, Recovery, and Consolation.
As for me, personally, it would be hard to say since I've lived with Tolkien's Middle Earth as part of who I am since I was 8 (36 years for anyone counting!).
I like to imagine that I would be a poor bankrupt romantic fool without having read Tolkien (and Lewis), instead of the enriched romantic fool that I am.
