Just thought I'd give you my 2 bits.
I was trained by a fabulous typographer & he would agree that an entire book would be difficult to read if typeset completely in a san serif font. But he would also be the first to say that if, as you say, "Each of the articles is only a few hundred words" and a sans serif font such as Futura would make your piece look interesting yet easy to read, then go for it.
The site you referred us to also says - "If you are using sans serif typefaces for body text, leading needs to be increased even more, sometimes to as much as 135–140% of point size. For example, a 10-point sans serif font would probably look best with line spacing set somewhere between 13 and 14 points." So, your job is to take a sans serif font and make it work within the parameters of your design.
The primary purpose of producing any printed piece is to entice your audience to read it & to retain the information you are presenting. Sacrificing readability for prettiness defeats the whole point of a well-designed project.
If you are uncertain, I suggest setting up style sheets & building one section. Make a copy & change the style sheet to a serif font you think might work. Print out both & give them to someone else to read if you want a second opinion. Who knows, futura might be exactly the font required to get the job done.
