I am a paperback book. I may not be for you, but a lot of time, effort and care has gone into my creation.

I may not be for you; a very personal story lives here. For you, I might be boring, or written for someone else entirely. I might be off-topic. My font might offend.

Even if my cover picture and title appeals to you.

Does my cover appeal to you?

Then I invite you to read.

You won’t find any links embedded in my text to click away to. There will be no advertisements that pop up to distract you. And you won’t know from the first page alone if I’m the right book for you. I may take a little investment. I know you are used to reading things online, with click-bait and links and pop-ups, and I know that I may demand some of your attention span.

But I’m worth it; a lot of time, effort and care has gone into my creation. I do ask that you respect that. If it’s a good read you’re after.

You won’t know, by the end of page one, if I’m for you. I do hope you get to the end of the first page; but that won’t be enough to know if this book is for you.

It’s just a teaser.

You may have a better idea by the end of the first chapter.

But that’s not the whole of me either. There’s plenty more.

I know there are plenty of other books out there, many with interesting cover pictures and titles. Many of them, are truly great books.

It’s really by chapter 4 or 5 that you know if I’m the right book for you. You know; if I’m yours. You’ve had that feeling before. You know; that this book is brilliant. Is yours. And you’re compelled to get to the end. You can’t put me down. And you want your friends to find me as brilliant as you do. You’re proud to be reading me.

I’m enjoying this too.

Because you had the attention span and commitment to get past the first page, to get past the first chapter. Despite the other brilliant books you have access to, the ones with brilliant cover pictures and titles.

You invested in me.

Just to see if I’m a book you want to see through to a conclusion.

I know I’m a little unfashionable. I know I live in a disposable culture. I know I’m competing with your desire for more instant gratification, and I know there is so much for you to choose from.

My cover picture may even be lackluster, my title less than dynamic.

I know my blurb alone, is more than 140 characters.

I have no enticing, embedded links.

But I want to be read. A lot of time, effort and care has gone into my creation. I will stir emotions in you that have no emoticon-equivalent. I want you to invest in my first page, my first chapter. Recycle me at chapter four if I’m not for you, I have no fear of second hand book shops. But I may be for you, and I worry that you’ll never know, simply because you’ve been seduced by embedded links, and pop-ups and “block” symbols on your smartphone.

I am a great book. I may be yours. Invest in me, read me. Make that commitment.

I’m worth it.

But whether I’m your book or not… you’re a great reader. I like you. Please promise me, as I collect dust on a bookshelf, that you’ll make the time to read some other books. They are amazing books, and a lot of time and effort and care went into their creation.

I know they are all worth reading; they are worthy of attention. But that’s not why I want you to read them.

I want you to read them, because you’re worth it. You really are. You’re a great reader.

David Stuart is the Wellbeing Programme Curator and Substance Use Lead GUM/HIV at London’s top sexual health clinic, 56 Dean Street. This article originally appeared here.