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As to Shakespeare: I have read all the plays, only because I can't see all of them performed.
I agree that if Tolstoy only read Shakespeare and never saw a production that, while he's entitled to his opinion, his opinion is not based on Shakespeare's *intention*. Drama =/= novels. I also wonder just how good Tolstoy's English was. I doubt I'd have the courage to pass judgment on a writer of whose language I was not a native speaker.
As to Tolkien: I've often observed that the people who try to read Tolkien have one of two reactions: either they love it to death, or they're bored to tears. I've never seen anything else. I have sympathy for the ones bored to tears, but I pity them, too. I first read LOTR at a time when I had a desperate need for what he had to offer, so it's my all-time favorite book, I do confess. I've read it about 20 times, and although I'll probably never again experience the emotional depth of the first reading, I always find *something* there that I never saw before. The book is deep, rich and beautiful. What more could I ask for? It's not *perfect*, but it's wonderful. I'll take wonderful over perfect anyday.
I had one friend who read it who kept reading slower and slower the closer she got to the end, because she didn't want it to be over. I pointed out that she could read it again, but she said, "Not for the first time!" and I understood perfectly.
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