Book Pick for September: Bringing Home the Birkin

I am really loving this book right now.

An excerpt from Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World's Most Coveted Handbag by Michael Tonello

"She opened a drawer in the counter, and donned a pair of spotless white cotton gloves. She removed the lid, and placed it gingerly beside the box. Under the lid were four layers of white tissue, tisuue so stiff it looked starched (I'd later learn Hermes had their tissue custom-made, to ensure that it was acid free), She carefully negotiated the barriers of white, draping them in such a manner that each sheet lay perfectly suspended over the edge of a corresponding cardboard wall-north, south, east, west. Then, with utmost care (like picking up a newborn from a bassinet) she lifted out the Birkin and placed it in front of my wondering eyes. It was still hidden, though, snug inside a dun-colored dustcover. She unlaced the drawstring, and peeled back the cloth. (I almost expected them to pipe in burlesque music.) Once she had unveiled it, I couldn't stop gawking, although I don't think I was that obvious. The charcoal-gray (I guess that's what "anthracite" meant) crocodile bag gleamed richly. She kept talking.