Tiny Raccoon Books in Sayville is preparing to celebrate the holiday season with its third annual Jolabokaflod, a community event centered around books, chocolate, and cozy winter traditions.
The celebration, scheduled for Dec. 20 at 7 p.m., introduces an Icelandic custom often called the “Christmas book flood” into the South Shore community. The shop’s owner, Daniel McGowan, explains that the tradition involves families exchanging books and hot cocoa during the holidays. In recent years, independent bookstores nationwide have adopted this practice, and Tiny Raccoon Books has made it one of its signature events.
McGowan opened the store just over two years ago after moving with his family from Brooklyn to Long Island. He had been working as a paralegal for a nonprofit and occasionally selling books online, but he was always drawn to the idea of running a neighborhood shop.
“Sayville is a wonderful place for a bookstore,” McGowan said. “This was a real, like, book desert. When I opened, there was nothing, no independent bookstores from the Hamptons to Bellmore. Some big-box corporate stores sell books, but nothing from independent publishers, like those owned by actual people. So, I plopped down pretty much right in the middle.”
The shop initially operated on weekends while McGowan continued working in the city, and by Memorial Day 2023, it was open five days a week.
From the beginning, the bookstore aimed to serve as a community hub. McGowan considers it a “third space”—a place where locals can spend time without feeling pressured to buy anything. Visitors come to browse new arrivals, discuss books, or enjoy a warm, peaceful spot in town. Over the years, the shop has also hosted free music shows and collected donations for local causes, including food drives and pet supply collections.
The Jolabokaflod event grew out of that same spirit. When McGowan first learned about the tradition, he thought it was an ideal way to bring people together at the end of the year.
The store’s first celebration featured a variety of wrapped books and hot cocoa from Sayville Bean Coffee House. Last year’s edition expanded to include holiday cookies from Brunch Sayville and a reading of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, which drew families with young children. The turnout was large enough that McGowan ran out of wrapped books and made plans to prepare more this year.
“There’s a lot of surprise with the books,” McGowan said. “People are excited. They don’t have any idea what the book is.”
The upcoming event will continue the blind-date-with-a-book format, but with a more organized system. McGowan has been wrapping books for weeks, sorting them into categories after realizing that last year’s mix leaned too heavily on his favorite genre—nonfiction.
This time, packages will be clearly marked for genres such as romance, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, general nonfiction, and children’s categories ranging from early readers to young adult.
The books are chosen from the shop’s shelves based on quality and broad appeal, with many being long-popular titles or recent releases available in used editions. McGowan plans to add ribbons and simple decorations to the wrapping to make the presentation more festive.
The evening will again feature hot cocoa, chocolate, holiday cookies, and music. Families are invited to arrive a little early if they want to listen to the reading of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, though McGowan plans to begin once enough children are present. The store sets out rugs and leaves children’s books unalphabetized so young visitors can flip through them freely. The atmosphere, he says, usually feels lively and welcoming, especially when the weather turns wintry.
Admission to the Jolabokaflod is $10, which includes cocoa, all the cookies you can eat, and a wrapped book. McGowan hopes the tradition will remain a staple for as long as the store is part of Sayville. With the shop lit for the season and the shelves stocked, he sees the event as one of the highlights of the year—an evening where neighbors warm up, enjoy treats, and discover something unexpected inside a wrapped package.
