Almost Interesting: The Memoir

Written by David Spade

Narrated by David Spade

A hilarious and biting memoir from the actor, comedian and Saturday Night Live alumni David Spade.

David Spade is best known for his harsh “Hollywood” Minute Sketches on SNL, his starring roles in movies like Joe Dirt and Tommy Boy,  and his seven-year stint as Dennis Finch on the series Just Shoot Me. Now, with a wit as dry as the weather in his home state of Arizona, the “comic brat extraordinaire” tells his story in Almost Interesting.

First Taking fans back to his childhood as a wannabe cool younger brother and recounting his excruciating road-tour to fame—when he was regularly mistaken for a ten year-old, Spade then dishes about his time crisscrossing the country as a comedian, for low-paying gigs and dragging along his mother’s old suitcase full of props. He also covers his years on SNL during the beloved Rock/Sandler/Farley era of the 1990s, including his close working relationship and friendship with Chris Farley and brags about the ridiculous perks that fame has brought into his life, including the constant fear of being fired, a crazy ex-assistant who attacked him while he was sleeping, a run-in with Eddie Murphy on the mean streets of Beverly Hills, and of course an endless supply of hot chicks.  

Sometimes dirty, always funny, and as sharp as a tack, Almost Interesting reminds you why David Spade is one of our generation’s favorite funny guys.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 27, 2015
• ISBN: 9780062419965

David Spade

David Spade is an actor, comedian, and writer. A former cast member of Saturday Night Live, Spade has also starred in the films Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, and the Joe Dirt and Grown Ups franchises. He was nominated for an Emmy, two Golden Globes, and an American Comedy Award for his role on NBC’s Just Shoot Me! He also won a participation award for being in show business. That’s the one he’s most proud of. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

Reviews for Almost Interesting

[Ana Perez · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I haven’t laughed this hard in a while. He is compassionate and sweet. I hope he does find the girl of his dreams. Lol

[debjoy81 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So fun to listen to! I wish it was longer!

[Chuck Albrecht · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked it. Wish there was more about his post SNL and Tommy Boy career. He seems to be a genuinely good guy who’s led quite a life.

[Brigg Barsness · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A really fun book. Never knew David Spade was such a decent guy. Never plays one on TV!

[billie jo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting read how Spade became famous. I didn’t care for the last two chapters, seemed like an after thought.

[Tamara Moore Roche · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It was well done . Easy to listen too and very informative.

[Michelle Montemayor · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyed the narration by the author. Like being in a continuous on demand stand up show, presented by a guy who has overcome many challenges to get there.

[Jennifer Tonglet Woods · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing !!!! Loved this book sooo much!! I tam ate and funny and a little bit of sad all wrapped into one great book! Looking forward to reading his newest book!

[Ross Taylor · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Surprisingly entertaining. David did a great job reading it in his sarcastic conversational style.

[Traci Price · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I Loved it. Laughed out loud. Will be listening again

[Jason Alan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dang… Spade is hilarious, gotta believe the book is even better with him reading his own life story!

[Elissa Turner · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I started listening to this on an airplane and I kept laughing. People were looking at me and probably thinking I was a weirdo, but I couldn't contain the myself. I usually don't enjoy hearing about the childhoods of autobiographers, but I loved all of David's entertaining stories. Everything from his mom making him wear a t-shirt with his own face on it to hiding out from Eddie Murphy for 20 years was hilarious. Hearing all the jokes the actors and writers of SNL played on each other helped me imagine what it would be like to be one of the gang. I've seen David Spade in Las Vegas perform and he was excellent and so is his book.

[Austin Garcia · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Knowing more about one of my favorite comedians was great

[Rebecca Jimenez · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love how down to earth Spade is. I used to stay up late when I was younger to tape him when he was on Caroline's Comedy Hour.

[Joe Maggio · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As this book came to an end, I have to say he made me laugh many time at his references alone never mind the great stories! I appreciated his insight and honesty!

[Julie Gaede · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very interesting read. I was a huge fan of SNL during David's employment there and loved hearing about his experience.

[Dundee Cantu · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

More interesting than I expected. A nice and honest memoir of Spade.

[Sara Valois · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you need a laugh, I highly recommend this book!

[snezana popovic · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Made my day. Wish I could live with him and listen to him 23 hours a day. Make every story sound interesting. Great book :)

[Beverly Hymel · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hilarious! I loved the brutal honesty and the look inside the "industry" he gave us.

[Debra Witthar · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

David's interesting life, who would have knew it! must listen

[Veronika Sanobova · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

this book made my days when I was listening to it, loved the brutal honesty David shares with us, hilarious!

[Mike Lucking · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lots and lots of good dating advice. I recommend it highly.

[Abdulrahman · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very funny book it is as spade said almost interesting.

[Al Sedghi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Funny and heartwarming. It was so much more than I expected. Really enjoyable.

[thanesh_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I know David Spade from SNL as well as his stint on Just shoot me and it was interesting to read about his early life and how he made it in the entertainment industry. Now let's agree right off the bat that he is a special individual, but most comedians are and have to be in order to become and remain successful. The first part of the book was interesting but the latter half although at times was funny seems a bit disjointed and a little attention seeking. Maybe he deserves the attention, I mean the incident with his assistant and the housekeeper both were off the wall. Fans of David will enjoy this book everyone else skip.

[charrlygirl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you enjoy Spade's snarky sense of humor, you'll probably enjoy this autobiography.

Spade did not have an easy life and I enjoyed learning about his childhood and family. For me, though, the best parts of this autobiography were easily the parts about when he got to Saturday Night Live.

All the behind the scenes info on how SNL works, how the skits are pitched, written and rehearsed-it's all here. I was hoping for a lot of this info when I listened to both Tina Fey's and Amy Poehler's autobiographies, but in both of them, SNL only played a small part. Here it plays a big part, as does, of course, Chris Farley. The Farley parts are both poignant and hilarious. I felt my heart crack a little bit when Spade mentioned talking to Dan Ackroyd about how it was to lose such a close friend/partner to drugs.

There were a few irritating things involving the writing and narration-the need to abbreviate a lot of things into annoying little words-using sitch for situation, for example. I didn't like that and it got on my nerves. Luckily, Spade was entertaining enough that I could overlook it most of the time.

I'm surprising myself by giving this audio 5 stars. I thought Spade's snarky sense of humor would bother me, but it made me laugh more than ever. He's funny, seemingly honest and as the title suggests-Almost Interesting.

My highest recommendation to fans of Spade's humor and for fans of SNL.

[mcelhra · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I’ve always been intrigued by David Spade. His Hollywood Minute bits on Saturday Night Live were hilarious and so well-written. He’s been a scene-stealing supporting cast member in the TV series Just Shoot Me and Rules of Engagement. In both shows, he played a womanizing jerk. However, in his appearance on talk shows, he is self-deprecating to the point where it seems like he really does have low-self-esteem. Yet at the same time, he’s kind of a womanizer like his characters. But then, he dated Heather Locklear?! He’s an enigma. I picked up his book, hoping I could get to the bottom of who the heck is David Spade.

Almost Interesting starts in David’s childhood but the bulk of the book is about his career leading up to and as a cast member of Saturday Night Live. If you want an in-depth look at how an episode of SNL is put together, this is the book for you. I enjoyed learning about how the writer’s room at SNL works. David was there for five years and had imposter syndrome (that’s my diagnosis, not his) basically the whole time. He was always worried that he was going to get fired. I think that the self-deprecating humor he portrays on talk-shows comes from a place of genuine vulnerability that is in this book as well.

There are also some stories about the movies he made with Chris Farley, who was a close friend. He doesn’t go into much detail about Chris’s personal demons but I wouldn’t expect him to. There’s almost nothing about the two TV series he was in. The biggest disappointment is that there is NOTHING about Heather Locklear. I can only hope that he held back some info to include in a second memoir.

Memoirs from comedians can be hit or miss. Often their humor doesn’t translate well to the page. While some of the humor in the book was on the obnoxious, swarmy side, I thought that the sincere parts of the book made up for it. Recommended, especially for SNL fans.

[electrascaife · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Spade talks about his life from childhood through the Tommy Boy/Black Sheep days.
This one was a hoot. Spade is one of my favorite stand-up comedians, and of course he brings his excellent timing and sense of humor to his memoir, which is filled with fascinating tidbits from his early career and SNL days. I highly recommend the audio version, because he reads it so well, and that goofy laugh cracked me up every time.

[knitwit2_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

David Spade has such great comic timing! Listening to this audio was a such a pleasure. He humorously relates tales from his rather difficult childhood in such a way that you can't help but laugh out loud and upon further reflection respect him for rising above it all. His stories of his own celebrity are self-depreciating and humble - above all hilarious!.