Floating Off The Page, edited by Ken Wells, changes the stereotype of reading a lengthy, arduous book. The Wall Street Journal has a column often refereed to as the “A Column” or the “Middle Column.” The column focuses on odd topics such as why women love UPS men and braces for sheep.

While these topics may seem irrelevant to the typical Journal reader, somehow, the topic always ties into the lives of these business men and women. This column is often the topic of conversation around the water cooler because of its obscure nature, yet relevance to the business world. Floating Off The Page is a compilation of some of the best columns.

The column uses simplistic language and avoids business lingo, so a reader with any background can enjoy this column. While the majority of the columns have a comical side to them, serious topics are touched. One column is about a postal worker who delivered mail to the World Trade Center. The article focuses on the loss but also on how survivors dealt with the tragedy. Most of the columns are short, only 1,000 words on average, which makes this book an easy but fun and enlightening read. The comedic columns have a dry sense of humor, which makes the reader smirk instead of laugh aloud.

While some of the columns may seem a little outdated (the column dates back to the 1940s) most of the articles are recent (since the 1970s) and are about issues that almost any young adult can relate to. Wells, a senior editor and feature writer for The Wall Street Journal, has the ability to edit and complete articles that have a balance between informative, humor and truthful is amazing. The book’s forward is by Michael Lewis, made popular by his book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, published last year and stayed on The New York Times Bestseller list for 17 weeks.

The three best columns are: “Why Girl Scouts Sing the Blues,” “Men in Brown” and “Nothing Personal. We Sue All Our Friends.”

Without giving too much away, “Why Girl Scouts Sing the Blues” is about the silliness for lack of a better word of copyright laws. Because of these laws, Girl Scouts have been given a list of songs they are “allowed” to sing without being sued.

“Men in Brown” is about why women are so attracted to UPS men. Basically, it says that UPS men have one characteristic that we can’t find in our significant others: dependability. Will our boyfriends actually pick us up for dinner at seven? Who knows. Will the UPS man pick up the package by 10 a.m.? Definitely.

“Nothing Personal. We Sue All Our Friends” is about nondisclosure agreements or NDA. Traditionally signed when people joined large companies to prevent employees from giving away private company information, NDAs are now being signed for absurd reasons ranging from a man who NDAed his rabbi and his rabbi’s wife to Bill Gates NDAing carpenters working on his home.

This book is terrific for a between class laugh over a cup of coffee or a lottery of ideas for research papers. It will spark ideas never considered and touch on issues that will lead to head nodding. And one thing readers will have to agree with Andy Borowitz, a humorist who writes for The New Yorker and the New York Times, truth really is stranger than fiction.

Floating Off The Page, edited by Ken Wells, has essays that have a humorous take on life including “Men In Brown.”