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Almost Like Being in Love

by Steve Kluger (Goodreads Author)

4.17 of 5 stars 4.17 · rating details · 1,524 ratings · 252 reviews

A high school jock and nerd fall in love senior year, only to part after an amazing summer of discovery to attend their respective colleges. They keep in touch at first, but then slowly drift apart.

Flash forward twenty years.

Travis and Craig both have great lives, careers, and loves. But something is missing .... Travis is the first to figure it out. He's still in love wit...more

Paperback, 354 pages

Published May 11th 2004 by William Morrow Paperbacks (first published January 1st 2004)

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Lists with This Book

The Best of Gay Romance

60th out of 1,455 books — 1,414 voters

Almost Like Being in Love by Steve Kluger

The Curtis Reincarnation by Zathyn Priest

The Pedlar and the Bandit King by Kirby Crow

Best Novels with Non-Explicit Gay Romance

3rd out of 123 books — 175 voters

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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

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Mar 17, 2013 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-favorites

March 16, 2013

Doing a quick re-read...just wanted (needed) some Travis bits to make me smile...

***************************

4.5 stars

“Being Travis was a full-time job, yet that never kept him from teaching me how to be Craig.”

This book is about first love, true love, forever love…

Damn this book.

Charming, witty, funny, original…and almost 100% quotable. This book made me laugh and cry and hope and hurt and hope and smile. Travis (me, if I was a 38 yr-old gay man) and Craig (my soulmate if I was a...more

42 likes · like · see review

Dec 29, 2012 Baba ♥♥♥ Marcus, Tyler, Tate, Dan, Ty, & Hunter added it · review of another edition

Shelves: m-m, male-authors, dnf, bored-out-of-my-mind, books-everyone-loved-but-baba

I didn't know that funny can be boring. DNF. I will refrain from rating this book.

No offense, Rowan…bye!

There are enough good reviews on GR that you can check out. Let's just say that Almost Like Being in Love is not my cuppa at all. In fact, the writing did not suit me and even though there are some laugh-out-loud moments, most of the time I felt bored out of my mind. Also, this book is weird to read. There are plenty of e-mails, memos, journal entries, notes etc. and it felt like I was consta...more

36 likes · like · see review

Dec 27, 2012 Akansha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: glbt, romance, first-person-pov, humour, second-chances-do-overs, favourites

4.5

Almost Like Being in Love uses a very standard trope as its jumping-off point, boy meets boy or in this case, nerd meets jock and they fall in love. And despite this, it manages to be an effervescent, charming and exceedingly hilarious not quiet romantic comedy by putting its own spin on this completely overdone cliché. The obvious hook of the book is that it’s written in the epistolary form and told via school assignments, emails, transcripts, menus, memos, journal entries, notes and whatnot...more 4.5

Almost Like Being in Love uses a very standard trope as its jumping-off point, boy meets boy or in this case, nerd meets jock and they fall in love. And despite this, it manages to be an effervescent, charming and exceedingly hilarious not quiet romantic comedy by putting its own spin on this completely overdone cliché. The obvious hook of the book is that it’s written in the epistolary form and told via school assignments, emails, transcripts, menus, memos, journal entries, notes and whatnot.

The story kickoffs in 1978 when Travis, the nerd in the aforementioned equation and Craig, the jock meet cute in their senior year of high school and become fast friends. It isn’t long before that they are completely, hopelessly in love with each other. But real life has a way of throwing a wrench into the carefully laid plans of young love and thus, sadly, Travis and Craig go their separate ways to pursue higher studies and lose touch. However, almost 20 years and 27 boyfriends later, Travis has an epiphany that he’s still in love with Craig and he decides to get Craig back.

I couldn’t help but fall for Travis. He’s a neurotic, obsessive-compulsive, Broadway musical and baseball freak who always straightens out his French fries, likes his shoelaces to point in the same direction and his olive pimentos downwards and my favourite, takes love advice from his students by insidiously working questions in their American History test papers, among other things. He’s certifiable but completely adorable with some of the best one-liners in the book. His road trip/journey will reduce you to sidesplitting laughter and make you cringe with embarrassment on his behalf as he blunders his way through it to get to Craig.

I wouldn't have guessed in a million years that a book like this could have me biting my nails and dying of utter suspense to see how things pan out, especially by the last 50 pages because by then every possibility seems equally likely. All the secondary characters are likeable, boisterous and quick-witted, especially the extremely memorable and funny Gordo, whom I loved as much as Travis. Kluger incorporates real life events and history pertaining to the era that the story covers to enrich it. Not to mention that it is abounding with references to baseball and other (arguably outdated) pop culture references, which inform and define the characters but can get alienating and frustrating and I admit, I glossed over most of them.

If I had a complaint, it was the ending. (view spoiler)

Nonetheless, Almost Like Being in Love is most certainly going on my re-read shelf.

(less)

19 likes · like · see review

Jan 17, 2013 Lenore rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: because-jenn-felt-the-love, funny, young-adult, 2013, because-susan-is-the-bestest, angst-anyone, friends-to-lovers, lgbt, print, rec-by-gr-friend, reviewed-by-yours-truly, second-chances, ugh-little-to-no-sex, where-is-the-kleenex, buddy-read

This is one of those times I can't do a proper review. Mostly because there are so many things I want to say about this book, I don't know where to begin.

So I'll just say that I loved it. It made me smile, laugh out loud even. It made my heart ache and jump and swell in my chest. It made me love and root for the main characters, and it also introduced me to a set of remarkable side characters. Travis, I admit I liked you a teeny tiny more than Craig, and your best friend Gordo was fun, but Crai...more

15 likes · like · see review

Jan 25, 2013 deirdre rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: m-m

Not sure how i feel about this book. i admit i came to this with high hopes and a great deal of excitement. It was nice to hold a paperback in my hands again!

This is more of a personal journey than traditional romance. The characters are well written in the beginning, but i still managed to get bored. The cross country journey lost me completely.

The Harvard years felt to real to me as i spent a ton of time there in the late 80s through the mid nineties. I ate at the same restaurants, drank at...more

8 likes · like · see review

Jan 15, 2013 Jen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: EVERYONE EVER

Recommended to Jen by: A lot of people, and I love you all forever

Shelves: m-m-romance, buddy-read, favorites, flufftasticness, friends-to-lovers, sobbed-like-a-rabid-hyena, hi-freaking-larious

A quick note before you read my sappy-ass review: do yourself a favor, and read this as an actual book, and not as an e-book. I’ve heard the e-book is not formatted correctly, and trust me… you want the correctly formatted version!

Anyway…

I want to give this book a million stars, I loved it so much. I literally hugged this book when I finished it… and how ridiculous is that?!

Is it possible to feel completely shattered and completely blissfully happy all at the same time? Because that’s what I f...more

13 likes · like · see review

Oct 21, 2011 Vio rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Vio by: Deeze

Shelves: sweet, funny, awesome, highly-recommended, delightful

What can I say, brilliant, engaging and funny. It made my day, loved it.

7 likes · like · see review

Jul 19, 2007 Kati rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, 2007, in-english, gay, humor, romance

If you like hilarious gay stories, then this one is just the book you were looking for. It's not written in the usual "book-ish" style, it's like looking into someone's life through their Post-It notes, emails, journal entries etc. It's new and totally refreshing but it takes some time to get used to.

And I haven never encountered two characters that would simply fit like Craig McKenna and Travis Puckett. Travis is the guy who counts his pop-corn and lines up the peas and asparagus on his plate a...more If you like hilarious gay stories, then this one is just the book you were looking for. It's not written in the usual "book-ish" style, it's like looking into someone's life through their Post-It notes, emails, journal entries etc. It's new and totally refreshing but it takes some time to get used to.

And I haven never encountered two characters that would simply fit like Craig McKenna and Travis Puckett. Travis is the guy who counts his pop-corn and lines up the peas and asparagus on his plate and wants to write a book about "Alexander Hamilton and the Designated Hitter" (with the intent to prove that American baseball league was founded on the same set of rules that are outlined in The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton)... and who is hopelessly in love with one Craig McKenna. Or he had been in High School when he spent the most wonderful summer with him. But then, they went to college and chose separate ways... But now, twenty years later, Travis decides that Craig was THE ONE and nothing can stop a determined Puckett. Though there is a little problem... Craig has a boyfriend with whom he has lived for the last 12 years... A really really nice boyfriend.

Travis simply grows on you. Like a mold. He is so great that even the football players at the University look forward to his American History classes and he has this really big heart and everybody whom he meets obviously falls in love and has the happily ever after... He is the guy that would drive you completely crazy until you couldn't but kiss him senseless. A wonderful book!

And what does Craig think of the incredible Travis? "I was right. He knows everything. Like metaphors and nuclear reactors and Luke Skywalker's middle name and the ingredients of Cheerios. All in the same sentence!" or "According to Travis, I'm not allowed to eat lettuce or grapes (exploited migrant workers on the West Coast), canned salmon (lousy living conditions for Filipino packers in Alaska), or those little peas that look like green BBs (forced labor in central California - in 1930!). So far, no problem. I mean, he hasn't come down on Junior Mints yet, so I'm okay."

Yeah, that's Travis and Craig for you :)(less)

12 likes · like · see review

Feb 17, 2013 Sheri rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: boyz-luvin-boyz, gift, need-to-read

Soulmate treasure hunt.

Once you truly give your heart away, you never get it back. Hop on to this hilarious journey of two separated souls destined to be together. Tag along and see if it’s possible to slip into the empty space lingering after 2 decades apart.

Young love. First love. True love.
Seniors Travis and Craig fall into each other’s arms (literally) and give their hearts away without hesitation. They have ‘perfect’ love and look forward to their happily-ever-after future together. Unfor...more

3 likes · like · see review

Sep 01, 2011 Deeze rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone and Everyone

Shelves: favorites, would-read-again, read-more-than-once, old-fasioned-print-versions, pick-me-up, more-story-than-sex, laugh-out-loud, fail-safe

If there was ever a book that deserved more than 5 stars this is it. Not only was it one of the sweetest love stories ever but so funny I was laughing out loud through out the whole book. I could rave about this book so much but I could never do it justice. If you haven't read it yet then your missing out. It is so worth the time and money.

11 likes · like · see review

Apr 14, 2010 Kassa rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of those classic great books that makes the blog review rounds almost every year as more and more readers discover its greatness. I’ve had the paperback on my shelf for a lamentably long time and finally picked it up to highlight for those few readers who haven’t indulged in the fabulousness that makes up this book. Almost Like Being in Love is a tour de force of wit, charm, and cultural references. A large cast of incredible characters immediately delights and entertains even if the...more This is one of those classic great books that makes the blog review rounds almost every year as more and more readers discover its greatness. I’ve had the paperback on my shelf for a lamentably long time and finally picked it up to highlight for those few readers who haven’t indulged in the fabulousness that makes up this book. Almost Like Being in Love is a tour de force of wit, charm, and cultural references. A large cast of incredible characters immediately delights and entertains even if the plot doesn’t necessarily go anywhere and the characters are all over the top. It doesn’t matter and in fact, makes the book that much better. If you haven’t read this story – do so now. Right now.

Almost is a true love story that follows Travis and Craig over the course of twenty years but is told in a unique style. Instead of a straight narrative, the story is told in emails, letters, memos, legal pages, newspaper articles, checklists, to do lists, diary entries, homework assignments, and notices between all the characters. The main romantic connection starts with Travis and Craig as young students in boarding school that bond and fall in love quickly as only teenagers can do. On opposite coasts for college, the two drift apart and the story picks up as twenty years have past. Both men have left an indeliable mark on each other but their lives have gone on. Craig has turned into a politically active lawyer with a long time companion, Clayton, while Travis is living with his long time roommate and best friend Gordo while struggling to find love. When Travis decides he must get Craig back, his journey of hilarious comedy and touching romance is not to be missed.

There is so much going on in the story, yet the focus is always on the interpersonal connections. Nothing is confusing or overwhelming and the quick pace lends to a book you finish with satisfying delight, yet wish it never had to end. The snappy retorts are unique with an air that feels fresh and totally different than anything else. The unique style of writing immediately draws you into the quirky and charming voice of the author. That same voice permeates all the characters so each one is snarky, witty, clever, funny, and entertaining. They are all this way to an extent with no evil forces but instead a large and varying cast of entertaining and amusing men, women, and children. I thought this would get tiring after a while, all this humor and wit, but the deft handling and crisp writing keep the story moving incredibly fast. The quick changes of style from memo to diary to checklist and so on allow the story and characters to keep up their antics without causing the reader to fatigue on all the endless clever dialogue. Instead, strap in and enjoy the laugh out loud hilarious moments alongside the poignant, touching scenes.

Travis is an absolute delight as an obsessive compulsive history teacher that fell into the job while following a cute ass. Craig’s lasting influence is seen constantly with Travis’ obsession with baseball – just one of the man’s many, many obsessions – yet Travis is completely and wonderfully charming. Despite his insane and unbelievable action, he has a quirky magic that makes you wish Travis is real. His unique brand of helping others without realizing it gives every character a happy, fitting ending. Craig is a perfect counterpoint with his political activism, which he gains from his early association with Travis, and plethora of lost causes. His memos to his law partner Charleen are filled with hilarious cultural references while giving in your face honest opinions. Even his relationship with Clayton is touching and steamy, leaving you wondering how everything will turn out.

If anyone stole the show, young Noah perhaps did. His hilarious and adorable communications with his lawyer Craig are great touches to an already outstanding cast. If anyone was destined to become president at a young age, my vote is on Noah. Yet Travis’ roommate Gordo is also thoroughly entertaining as he finds love long distance with an innocent bystander who becomes embroiled in Travis’ manic and crazy journey to find the love of this life. When Gordo’s father comments several times that these people can’t be real, after all they’d be institutionalized by now, you can’t help but agree and totally enjoy their antics anyway.

Alongside all the humor, wit, and clever innuendo inserted in very obvious ways, the story is at heart a romance and a love letter to first love. The fabulous storytelling and great writing keep you engaged and absorbed from the beginning to the end but also reminiscent of young lovers and their hopes for forever. No doubt some won’t appreciate its brilliance, but I’d be hard pressed to imagine who they could be. If you haven’t read Almost Like Being in Love, you should definitely make it your next book to read. You won’t be disappointed. I’m off to buy Kluger’s entire backlist so stay tuned for more reviews of his work.(less)

14 likes · like · see review

Apr 26, 2010 Smokinhotbooks K.C. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: m-m

I bought the Kindle version and I do think part of my issue had to do with the snafus which might had hindered my pace.

This is probably one of the most interesting formats I've ever read in my reading career. It works though. Written in almost entirely in memo format it WILL take you awhile to get into the book. I struggled with wanting my traditional dialogue and POV but I hung in there and really enjoyed this story. The beginning is a bit rough and I almost gave up, glad I didn't because the a...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 07, 2011 L-D rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: EVERYONE who loves M/M

Recommended to L-D by: Deeze

Shelves: recommended-to-me, author-writer-journalist, m-m, romance, favorites, hs-childhood-loves

5+ stars for me.

I'm in shell shock right now. I just finished this book and I jumped on GRs to immediately spill to my friends. Some of my friends on GR (to remain nameless) like to recommend angsty books even though they know I will put them on my read-rage shelf. I thought for sure that this book was going to destroy me. I LOVED this book. This book is going straight to my favorites shelf - do not pass go - do not collect $200.

Travis and Craig were first loves from HS. It is the typical jock...more 5+ stars for me.

I'm in shell shock right now. I just finished this book and I jumped on GRs to immediately spill to my friends. Some of my friends on GR (to remain nameless) like to recommend angsty books even though they know I will put them on my read-rage shelf. I thought for sure that this book was going to destroy me. I LOVED this book. This book is going straight to my favorites shelf - do not pass go - do not collect $200.

Travis and Craig were first loves from HS. It is the typical jock meets nerd story but there's no HS level angst of the jock hiding his homosexuality from his other jocky friends. Travis and Craig's friendship is amazing and their romance is the perfect story of first loves. Travis and Craig unfortunately go to separate colleges and slowly drift apart. Begin angst.......now. 20 years and 27 boyfriends later, Travis realizes that he's always loved Craig and he sets out to reclaim his lost love. Cue my increased heart rate and stress levels.

This story is told through a series of narratives, emails, letters, exam results, depositions, and more. It was an extremely humorous and creative way to tell the story but I definitely found my self skimming rapidly through the depositions - I just had to skip, skip, skip to get to Craig and Travis because I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what happened.

I was tremendously stressed throughout this book. In the description, it says that they both have jobs, loves, and new lives. The whole love part freaked me out the entire time. How do you win back your love from 20 years ago when he is already in a relationship? One that has lasted over a decade? I prepared myself for the worst case scenario - tissues in hand.

I won't tell you if the story ended the way I wanted it to end, but I WILL say that my friends were right. I was in cold-sweats the entire time and I cursed my friends' existences. This is a MUST read book with highs, lows, and loop-de-loops. Seriously - I know you have a credit card. Buy this book.(less)

11 likes · like · see review

Feb 18, 2013 Emanuela ~plastic duck~ rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: rainbow-gay, glbt, romance

The story is, from a romantic point of view, very conventional: two boys fall in love, college (for some reason) takes them apart, and after almost 20 years one of them - the former nerd and now history professor Travis - realizes that the other one - the former jock and now civil rights lawyer Craig - was the only love of his life.

It would be a perfect romantic movie, with a bit of road trip, goofy moments and some drama. What's different, even if not original, is that the story is told through...more

8 likes · like · see review

Apr 10, 2013 Patois rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review was previously posted at All About Romance: http://www.likesbooks.com/cgi-bin/boo...

Grade: A-
Sensuality: Subtle

When I find a book I truly enjoy, I often end up hunting down my husband and reading passages to him. Some books are so good that a reader must really just share to enjoy them fully. Almost Like Being in Love, with its laugh-out-loud joie de vivre me looking for my husband multiple times a day just to share the bubbling joy I was feeling.

Travis and Craig found each other i...more

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Jan 26, 2013 Dumbledore11214 rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: gay-romance

As you can see I have read this book several years ago. Usually I do not review the books I have read more than several days ago, if I did not review them right away - with the amount of books (especially gay romances) that I read every week, the details even of the best books fade from your memory and fast. Not so with this book, granted I have reread it couple of times, but it had been more than a year since my last reread and I still remember it so clearly.

This book is a book I want to point...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 23, 2013 Rich Patrick rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: all-time-favorites

NOTE: If you are going to read this, read the physical copy, not the ebook due to rumored formatting concerns.

KLUGER HITS A GRAND SLAM!

This is one of my few all time favorite books I've read numerous times, loaned numerous times, and will probably be getting another copy of in the future, once I get Kluger to sign my original copy. I am partial to this book for several reasons, I'm a huge baseball fan as well as a musical theatre fan. Part of it also takes place in my hometown of St. Louis, MO w...more

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Jan 01, 2013 SueM rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bingo-challenge, lovers-friends-reunited, humour

This is not your typical novel, as most (if not all) of it is written in the form of journal entries, faxes, memos, text messages and emails, so it does take a little getting used to (in fact, I had to change to a different ereader app on my iPad, as Stanza didn't deal with the layout very well, making it difficult to determine who was writing what). But once I did, I couldn't help but fall in to the story of these two very different people finding their way through life and love. Travis is the...more

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Nov 02, 2012 Charly rated it 5 of 5 stars

I’ll probably re-read this about once a year for the rest of my life

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.

Rating: 10/10

PROS:
- I found this to be one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. If I wasn’t laughing out loud or at least smiling while reading 100% of the pages, it was at least 90%.
- The storytelling techniques are, if not totally novel, unusual and tons of fun to read. The emails and newspaper articles and such that are thrown in are both humorous and in...more I’ll probably re-read this about once a year for the rest of my life

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.

Rating: 10/10

PROS:
- I found this to be one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. If I wasn’t laughing out loud or at least smiling while reading 100% of the pages, it was at least 90%.
- The storytelling techniques are, if not totally novel, unusual and tons of fun to read. The emails and newspaper articles and such that are thrown in are both humorous and informational, and Travis and Craig’s feelings for each other seem more intimate when told in diary form than they would have if they’d simply been described by a third-person omniscient narrator.
- Kluger captures the desires and insecurities of two very different boys/men and convinced me within about 20 pages that they were absolutely meant for each other. Travis and Craig’s attempts to learn about each others’ interests (often clandestinely) as teens are incredibly sweet and endearing. And then when they grow up, the way each one repeatedly thinks of the other with such longing and fondness made me ache with the desire to see them together again.
- Every character in the story (well, all the good guys, anyway) is sharp and witty and amusing. Even the kid who’s only 11.

CONS:
- I am neither a history buff nor a baseball fan, so I got just a little bored by the near-constant references to historical movements and baseball players, teams, statistics, etc. (Kluger does make good use of these references, though: they show just how deeply Travis and Craig are connected.)
- The six-year gap between the next-to-last chapter and the last chapter makes the final chapter seem just a little disconnected from the rest of the story.

Overall comments: This is now one of my favorite romances. Kluger manages to convey an ever-after love story in just over 35 pages (when the main characters are teenagers), and the rest of the book is about them trying to find each other again. I found the early and later stages of their relationship equally enthralling. If you’re not well versed in baseball, American History, and Broadway, some things will likely go over your head (they did mine), but I still can’t recommend the book highly enough.(less)

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Apr 15, 2012 Hilary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: a-miraculous-pleasure-read

This is by the same guy who wrote My Most Excellent Year, which I read back in September. I recently wrote two 15 page papers on that novel, and just for the heck of it, emailed the author to tell him how much I dug it. He wrote back, which was awesome, and I decided to try out his others.

So, I thought this was YA, since the others are. Nope. It's an adult wolf walking around in YA sheep's clothing, which is ok. Most of the book is about the two protagonists at age 37, even though it starts wit...more

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Jun 08, 2011 Jasmine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: american

I have been considering reading kluger for a while, but always thought better of it. But when I saw it on Karen's "you might be gay if" table or perhaps "If you are gay you may like" I'm not completely clear on the subtext of the table. I decided to be appreciated by being like dana and reading about gay boys. Dana wouldn't like this book there are no amputees**. also no pirates and it's stupid cute.

This is a very american version of One Day to the point of pukey, stupid, cute, american, but fu...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 06, 2010 Aaron rated it 5 of 5 stars

Presented in the form of faxes, emails, journal entries, and other formats, this novel presents a romantic comedy about two guys who fell in love in high school and grew apart once they headed off to college. Craig McKenna is a star athlete in his high school in New York state. He ends up befriend Travis Puckett, who is full of spit and vinegar as well as being a major fan of Broadway. Over the course of the senior year, they friendship grows into something more. Then college life drags them to...more Presented in the form of faxes, emails, journal entries, and other formats, this novel presents a romantic comedy about two guys who fell in love in high school and grew apart once they headed off to college. Craig McKenna is a star athlete in his high school in New York state. He ends up befriend Travis Puckett, who is full of spit and vinegar as well as being a major fan of Broadway. Over the course of the senior year, they friendship grows into something more. Then college life drags them to different parts of the country (Travis to California and Craig to Massachusetts).

Travis finds his way by balancing his love for baseball and a strong knowledge of history and molding himself into a popular professor at the University of Southern California, his alma mater. He has great support in the form of his old high school friend Gordo. All-in-all, Travis is happy with his life, but he can't help but wonder what might have been if things had worked out with Craig 20 years earlier. He ends up setting out for the East Coast in the hopes of finding Craig once again. Gordo uses it as an inspiration for his next screenplay.

Craig's life has landed him in a pretty good place. While he ended up giving up his sports after an injury, but he ended up in back in New York with a successful legal practice he shares with his best friend Charlene. He has also been in a good relationship for 12 years with Clayton, who owns his own hardware store. The two fight almost as much as they have good times, but they really do love each other. He has also been approached by the Democratic Party to run for Congress.

The novel follows a fun and humorous track as the Trevor and Craig head toward the intended reunion. What will happen when that takes place is left up in the air until the very end, but it does lead to a fun journey all the same.

Besides the main characters, the novel is filled with a fun supporting cast that quickly brings about smiles and no shortage of laughter. It is a light romantic comedy, perfect for the beach or other relaxing summer afternoon.(less)

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Jun 06, 2010 Nikki Boisture rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-for-the-blog

Are you kidding me? I loved this book so freaking much.

It's been so long since I've read a book that could just be called charming, but that's exactly what Almost Like Being in Love is. It's charming. It charmed the ever-loving crap out of me. Also, it's been quite a while since I've read anything where I felt so completely emotionally invested in the characters. I couldn't put the book down, because if I did, I'd worry about what was happening to these characters that I love so damn much.

I lo...more

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Mar 14, 2010 Lux rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: gay, hilarious, slice-of-life

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 23, 2010 Elisa Ramblings added it

If someone wants to read the best funny romance ever, than they has to read Almost Like Being in Love. I really don’t know why I didn’t read it sooner, it was a book that many people recommend to me, but there was a little voice inside me that was murmuring, “it’s not possible that a book that is so liked from so many people, it’s actually a good romance, people don’t really like romance”. And so I waited and waited, and then, when I finally bought the book, I left it in my reading list, and wee...more If someone wants to read the best funny romance ever, than they has to read Almost Like Being in Love. I really don’t know why I didn’t read it sooner, it was a book that many people recommend to me, but there was a little voice inside me that was murmuring, “it’s not possible that a book that is so liked from so many people, it’s actually a good romance, people don’t really like romance”. And so I waited and waited, and then, when I finally bought the book, I left it in my reading list, and week after week I was looking at it, always saying, the next will be it, and never actually open it. That was the catch, I didn’t open it; but once you did, it’s impossible to close this book without arriving to the last page.

This is actually two stories in one. In 1978 Travis and Craig meet in boarding school, both with a dysfunctional family behind and with a lot of dreams ahead; they are 17 years old, and they don’t believe to be gay, even if, when you know by memory Barbra Streisand’s birthday, when she was not yet the gay icon, maybe a little doubt you should have. Anyway, the Travis and Craig of 17 years are sweet and cute, and as all the young people, they love with all their heart. They are young and they believe the world is right there in front of them, ready to see their love grows and becoming the only important thing in their life. They really believe they will be together forever… they are only 17 years old. That is the catch of first love, it’s wonderful and enormous, it’s all you can think, but it doesn’t survive the long distance. When Travis moves to California and Craig to Massachusetts for College, the love of their lives becomes a warm memory. It’s not even said why they stopped to write, it’s probably as simple as it’s, they were young and they were far from each other.

20 years later, in 1998, Craig is in a long-term relationship with Clayton, who is really a good men, and Travis is pursuing a love affair with Julian, a 28 years old twink. Suddenly Travis realizes that he has never found the love of his life since that place is already occupied, by Craig. Now the only important thing is to find Craig and to tell him that he still loves him and everything will be perfect. But what will happen when Travis will find out about Clayton? The problem is that Clayton has really no fault: he is madly in love with Craig, he is handsome and caring, he asked Craig to marry him. And while Travis and Craig shared a blissful and young romance of less than a year, Clayton shared 12 years with Craig.

That is the strength of this novel, that I, the reader, was not able to pick between Travis and Clayton. I like both of them. At first I was hoping for a misstep of Clayton, for something that would help my romantic heart to fall on the basic rule, you will never forget your first love, but I was not lucky, the author didn’t help me, and Clayton was really perfect, but not that perfect that makes a man boring, the perfect that makes a man a wet dream. On the other side there is Travis, funny, crazy, madly in love Travis. How can you don’t cheer for him? Really at one point I was almost hoping for a threesome, yes, me, the romantic at heart that always says that she doesn’t like ménages, but there was really another choice?

The story has not a typical development, it’s written like writing on block notes, exchanges of emails, piece of hypothetical screenplays, even jury verdicts, all of them written by the different characters, Travis, Craig and Clayton, obviously, but also their family and friends. If at the beginning it’s a little strange, soon you start to enter in the flow, and you even have your favourite, like mine that were the American History Test where Travis asked to his students to help him in love, and the exchange of email between Gordon, Travis’ best friend, and his father.

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Apr 01, 2011 Wave rated it 5 of 5 stars

Almost Like Being In Love is as addictive as chocolate, it’s that good and it’s one of those books which I hated when it ended because I loved, loved this story so much. The book is epic without being 600 pages long, and it’s about a man’s journey to find his soul, his lost love from 20 years before, how he abandoned everything else in his life in his quest, and the people in his life and those he met along the way.

The story is told epistolary style and if you’re put off at the thought of readin...more Almost Like Being In Love is as addictive as chocolate, it’s that good and it’s one of those books which I hated when it ended because I loved, loved this story so much. The book is epic without being 600 pages long, and it’s about a man’s journey to find his soul, his lost love from 20 years before, how he abandoned everything else in his life in his quest, and the people in his life and those he met along the way.

The story is told epistolary style and if you’re put off at the thought of reading an entire story made up of newspaper articles, letters, emails, diaries, posts, etc., don’t be. Steve Kluger is master at his craft and you will be sucked into this story from the first chapter. His ability as a writer is unparalleled and if you think my statement is over the top when I say this, read the book and then tell me I’m full of it.

This love affair did not have a dull moment. Craig McKenna and Travis Puckett – one is a jock and the other a nerd – met at 15 in 1978 when they were both in high school, and Travis literally fell off a ladder into Craig’s arms. We experience their youthful crushes for movie and baseball heroes and follow them as they skip school to see these idols and lunch on Ring Dings and Pepsi.

Even though they both promised to keep in touch, life happened, the letters stopped and they drifted apart, but they never forgot each other. Twenty years later Travis realized that despite his successes, his life was empty and he knew why. Craig was no longer in it so he decided to find him and what a journey it was.

The book is laugh out loud and will have you in stitches. The ending was the right one and I was pleased that Kluger was able to find a way for everyone to be happy, without creating heartbreak for someone else. Almost Like Being in Love is memorable and will bring tears to your eyes as you travel with Travis in his obsessive search for his one true love.

Ultimately Almost Like Being In Love is about love, getting second chances, and the loyalty of friends who endure just about anything in the name of friendship
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Jun 22, 2010 Terri rated it 4 of 5 stars

Steve Kluger is one of my favorite authors. However, this was not one of my favorite Kluger books. Maybe because I have read several of his books lately, I found this one to be just a bit repetitive and predictable. His work, I am finding, is somewhat formulaic. Again, Kluger employs a multi-genre, epistolary writing style in which the characters all tell the story from their perspective through memos, scripts, letters, etc. I also felt that the humor was kind of unnecessarily raunchy at times -...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Tonileg rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, m-m, re-readable, second-chances, funny-ha-ha

This reminds me of a high concept (homage?) to the letter novels from the 18th century like Les Liaisons Dangereuses which is fun to read if you're in the book to read between the lines because it is a rare letter writer that tells the whole story instead of whatever makes them look good to the reader.
This story unfolds in a series of lists, essays, depositions, journals and conversations (the debates are really a funny great part of the story). If a nontraditional nonexistent narrator voice bot...more

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Jun 29, 2011 Kinga rated it 5 of 5 stars

Almost like being tortured (in a good way though)

I'm not going to recap the story, that's what blurbs are for:-) So I was up reading this until 3 AM by which point I was bawling like a baby, convinced there wasn't going to be a happy ending, and who likes crying at 3 AM on a weekday, but I have to say I absolutely loved the book (especially the characters) despite the sheer emotional torture it put me through.
The book has a very unusual way of storytelling, it's basically all conveyed through co...more

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Apr 17, 2010 Hilcia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-bookshelf, lgbt-books, favorite, impressions-blog-review

This book made me both laugh out loud and cry while reading it. It's not a book where you'll find explicit sexual scenes, instead you'll find love -- all types of love. Love between couples, but also friendships that last years without wavering, between people who know how to give and take, and love and friendships that are born out of a sense of immediate connection.

The story is told in narrative form from different points of view, but mostly by Travis and Craig. We know what's happening in bot...more This book made me both laugh out loud and cry while reading it. It's not a book where you'll find explicit sexual scenes, instead you'll find love -- all types of love. Love between couples, but also friendships that last years without wavering, between people who know how to give and take, and love and friendships that are born out of a sense of immediate connection.

The story is told in narrative form from different points of view, but mostly by Travis and Craig. We know what's happening in both their lives throughout a 20 year span from 1978 when they meet at prep school until their present. Somehow through their journal entries, memos, faxes, e-mails, notes, letters, lists, and other means of written communication we not only get to know them, but the people around them also become well defined characters with unique personalities.

During those 20 years, Travis becomes a history professor, whose use of baseball analogy to teach history is unique and often misunderstood by faculty--although his students are certainly appreciative. His love life is also next to non-existent. Meanwhile, Craig and his best friend Charlene are partners at a successful law firm, where his liberal agenda takes precedence over everything else. Craig has been luckier in love, he has maintained a steady relationship with his live-in partner of 12 years, Clayton.

The central, secondary characters and the plot are so well developed and defined in Almost Like Being in Love, that the characters jump out of the pages and weather you want it or not, pull you into their lives. I know I became invested in all the characters. Besides Travis and Craig (after all, I fell in love with both of them), weather it was Charlene, Jodi, Noah, Gordo, A.J, Clay or Travis' football player students, I wanted to know more about them. They made this novel complete and irresistible.

This is a love story in so many levels. A beautiful novel of first love and how that first love influenced and changed Travis and Craig's lives, even when apart. How in turn that love and those changes affected those around them. Who can't relate to those feelings of first love that Craig and Travis felt at 17? Who hasn't wondered what happened to that one person who made such a difference in their lives?

A gorgeous novel that will hook you and keep you reading, Almost Like Being in Love by Steve Kluger makes it to the top of my list. This was an outstanding read for me and one I highly recommend.(less)

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About Steve Kluger

Steve Kluger is an author and playwright, born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1952, who grew up with only two heroes: Tom Seaver and Ethel Merman. Few were able to grasp the concept. A veteran of "Casablanca" and a graduate of "The Graduate," he has written extensively on subjects as far ranging as World War II, rock and roll, and the Titanic, and as close to the heart as baseball and the Boston Red S...more

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Quotes from Almost Like Being in Love

“It doesn't matter what people thinks of you as long as you know that your heart and head are in the right place.” — 17 people liked it

“Falling hard for somebody makes you do things you never thought you'd do before. Like pulling off an A in History or finally facing the truth about yourself” — 16 people liked it

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