‘True Grit’ inspires a quiz: How well do you know your western literature?

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Reading might be a lost art in Hollywood, but my colleague John Horn still finds time to pick up a book every now and then.

After reading Charles Portis’ ‘True Grit,’ he was struck by how some of the novel’s language resembled Jack London’s writing style. London -- perhaps best known for his 1903 novel ‘Call of the Wild’ -- also seems to have been an influence on Cormac McCarthy’s prose in ‘No Country for Old Men.’

If you’re not seeing the connection, Joel and Ethan Coen adapted both ‘True Grit’ and ‘No Country for Old Men’ for the screen, the latter winning the best picture Oscar in 2008. ‘True Grit’ is in the race this year. (The Coens have yet to tackle ‘Call of the Wild,’ though it has been made into a movie several times, including once with Charlton Heston.)

Horn put together a quiz with quotes from the three books, and we dare you to identify who wrote what. I missed almost as many as I got right.

-- Julie Makinen

File photo: Jack London on his yacht, the Roamer, in 1914.