What is it about the American south that makes it such fertile and enduring ground for tantalizing literature?

Ann Patchett's "Whistler" and "The Patron Saint of Liars"

----What should I read next?---- Book critic and longtime NPR commentator Marion Winik answers this question in four opinionated, book-loving minutes. With reviews of new releases and older titles you may have missed, it’s like having a new best friend with very good taste to guide you in your literary adventures. The Weekly Reader is produced by WYPR and hosted by Lisa Morgan.