[Pitchwife]

I guess I'm another case of positive feedback loop. I first read LotR at about 17, and at the time the great thing about it (apart from the gripping story) was that it brought together several things I'd been interested in before - languages (English and Latin were my favourite subjects in school), mythology (I'd read both Norse and Greek myths in digests), early history and ancient civilizations. I'd read some other fantasy before (mostly sword-and-sorcery à la Michael Moorcock), but Tolkien first showed me that fantasy could be serious and thoughtful literature and prepared the way for the likes of Ursula LeGuin and Stephen Donaldson. The Silmarillion's short appendix on etymologies was my first glimpse of comparative and historical linguistics, which still fascinates me today (at times I regret that I didn't make an academic career of that fascination, but then again, maybe it's better that I can freely cultivate it as a hobby).
Most of all this was unconscious first, but shortly thereafter I read Carpenter's biography, which was a real eye-opener, as it showed me how all these matters - language, history, mythology - tied in with each other for Tolkien. It also pointed out some of Tolkien's influences and made me curious about them, leading me to George MacDonald, William Morris and the Kalevala; the latter in turn lead me to discovering Sibelius and Gallen-Kallela (hi there, Nogrod!). Beowulf, the Mabinogion, Edda and Icelandic Sagas led to history of the Dark Ages, etc.pp. - the tree is still branching out and hardly going to stop any time soon.
One influence I was conscious of from the start was Tolkien's part in shaping my political consciousness. His portrayal of 'the machine' and the damages done to the Shire by Saruman's industrialization planted the first seeds of doubt about the benefits of unlimited technological progress and interest in preserving the environment (those were the heydays of the no-nukes-movement, late 70s/early 80s). William Morris' blend of environmentalism, esthetics and socialism was another early influence, followed by many others and several changes of mind, but Tolkien laid the foundations.
Last not least, without Tolkien and the Downs I might never have realized how much fun participating in an online community can be!