On Nov. 6, a fire in the Antique Square shopping center on East Charleston Boulevard resulted in the closure of Academy Fine Books, one of the valley’s best used book shops.
  Store owner Gary Frick says a bum sleeping on a mattress wedged into an alcove behind his store is believed to have set the building’s eaves on fire. Frick lost some good leather-bound books to smoke and water damage. But the biggest problem was that he had to close his doors during the busiest time of the year for the book business.
  Frick thought he’d be on hiatus for a month, maybe two, while the insurance company did its thing and repairs were made. But the process got bogged down, and Frick ultimately was closed for six months while his store got a new ceiling, new carpeting and new paint. He had to haul all his books out of the store, then haul them back in.
  “I spent my life savings to survive for six months,” he said. “Fortunately I did have money for a rainy day.”
  Academy Fine Books recently reopened. Frick is still getting his thousands of volumes organized and onto shelves, but customers are welcome to step around the boxes and find some good books to take home.
  Sadly, it was a fire 12 years ago that led Frick to his current location. The space originally was occupied by a long-standing antique store called A Little Bit of Heaven. The owner of the antique store, Tony Scaramosino, who lived on the premises, died in the fire.
  “That’s when we moved in,” said Frick, whose bookstore had been in a smaller space in the same center.
  Frick says he’s glad to be getting back to his old routine, actively buying and selling used books, as well as Las Vegas and gambling memorabilia. He’s added one new task to his day, however: He regularly checks the alcove out back to make sure nobody’s taken up residence there.
  “I’ve already kicked people out of there,” he said.
  Academy Fine Books is located at 2026 E. Charleston Blvd., just west of Eastern Avenue. Store hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday-Saturday. The phone number is 702-471-6500.