I agree that the quote from Lewis is quite striking and that it would make an excellent topic for a thread of its own. Do you plan to open one? If so, please let me know, I would like to drop in there.
I went to college in the early eighties, so I missed out on the other memories you mention. My initial reading of Tolkien was very solitary - locked in my bedroom every day after school. I remember thinking that I was the only one who responded so strongly to Tolkien's work, as my friends and family at the time seemed rather uninterested at best. How wrong I was!
