To borrow lyrics from the rock band Staind, it's been a while.

Honestly, is difficult to remember the last time we ran a Four for the Month in this sports section.

With the high school seasons ongoing and editorial space limited by a sour economy, Four for the Month was pushed to the back burner, and in the process many suffered like Chicago Cubs fans waiting for a sniff of the World Series.

At last, the wait is over—for readers, not the Cubs—as the sports book column makes its triumphant return just in time for the sweltering summer months that surely lie ahead.

"The Great Book of Los Angeles Sports Lists"

Authors: Matt "Money" Smith and Steve Hartman

Amazon.com price: $10.17

Local sports broadcasters Matt "Money" Smith and Steve Hartman compiled a collection of top 10 lists that would make David Letterman proud.

Where are the best golf courses in SoCal? Why did the Raiders fail in Los Angeles? Is Kobe Bryant the greatest Laker of all-time? What were the top Final Four performances in UCLA history?

Answers to these questions and many more can be found within the 200-plus pages of this L.A. sports fan's delight.

Best of all, though, this is one of those books that can spark a never-ending debate between buddies—or bitter, beer-swilling rivals.

For example, was Chick Hearn's invention of the term "slam dunk" his greatest contribution to basketball's lexicon, or was it his famous, "It's in the refrigerator . . ." reference when the Lakers were all set to win another game?

These are not easy questions to answer, my friend, but you'll have a blast trying to decide who's right.

"Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the

Mt. Everest Disaster"

Author: Jon Krakauer

Amazon.com price: $10.17

On assignment for Outside magazine in 1996, Jon Krakauer scaled Mount Everest and almost didn't make it home alive. Several of his fellow climbers and tour guides, in fact, never descended the massive mountain during that deadly spring.

Although the first half of the story is somewhat technical and filled with various mountain climbing terms, distant climbing locations and a history of the sport, the action really heats up midway through, and it becomes almost impossible to set this book down.

So terrifying is Krakauer's journey that by the final few chapters readers are forced to ask themselves why anybody would want to make such a perilous trip to the top of the world, where the air is razor thin and danger lurks near every crevasse.

Krakauer, a journalist with impeccable research skills, also penned "Into the Wild." "The California Surf Project"

Authors: Eric Soderquist

and Chris Burkard

Amazon.com price: $23.10

Don't worry, surfers, this book doesn't give away all the best spots along the California coast—Surfline.com is already way out in front of the pack in trying to accomplish that dubious feat.

Traveling from Crescent City to Imperial Beach in a mustard-colored Volkswagen van, Eric Soderquist and Chris Burkard explore many of the Golden State's little nooks and crannies, where waves range from junk storm surf to epic, peeling barrels.

Essentially, this is a perfect coffee-table book rife with beautiful, wish-you-were-here photographs. There isn't much in the way of text, and sometimes that isn't such a bad thing.

The book also comes with a 30-minute DVD.

"Committed: Confessions of

a Fantasy Football Junkie"

Author: Mark St. Amant

Amazon.com price: $2.50

Hide the children and small animals—fantasy football's back.

These days, consumers just can't escape the fantasy football phenomenon. It's absolutely everywhere—in magazines on the grocery store rack and broadcast on the television, radio and all over the Internet.

What was once considered a seasonal hobby for nerds, dweebs and some on the Acorn staff has evolved into a way of life for nerds and dweebs the world over, and there's no end in sight.

Mark St. Amant, of course, takes things to an entirely different level by quitting his job and playing fantasy football full time.

In some ways, it's similar to what Sam Walker later did for his book, "Fantasyland: A Sportswriter's Obsessive Bid to Win the World's Most Ruthless Fantasy Baseball."

Best of all, consumers can get "Committed" online for less than $3, and if you're a true fantasy football zealot, that leaves about $7 for the week's groceries.

— Stephen Dorman