I guess, there's still a use case for modal pop-ups, since they provide an ideal break point for considering, whether the piece in question is worthwhile your t

I guess, there's still a use case for modal pop-ups, since they provide an ideal break point for considering, whether the piece in question is worthwhile your time or not. So, you may simply leave instead of bothering to operate the button… In UX terms, there may be room for improvement with the wording, like, "Are you sure you want to read this till the end?" ;-)