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Bryan's Brain: Volume I
Come with me and explore my crazy brain, discovering my wild attempts at going back in time, cloning dinosaurs, starting private militaries, purchasing mountains, flying to Mars, making movies, selling videogames, and playing professional baseball. You'll laugh, you'll cry, but mostly you won't care about any of it. But read it anyway, because you'll hurt my feelings if you don't!
221 pages, Paperback
First published December 5, 2011
1 person is currently reading
349 people want to read
About the author
Bryan Healey
11 books58 followersBryan Healey studied Computer Science at Northeastern University before becoming a technology leader, specializing in start-up development. He holds an additional BA in English and an MBA in Project Management. He has technical expertise in machine learning, and he has literary expertise in fiction and essay writing. Bryan lives in Boston with his beautiful wife.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 28, 2011
Bryan's Brain was a book I could definitely relate to and it brought back memories of my youth. I felt I was reading a book about me except for the part about being could at sports and being in shape. I especially agreed with him about being a child of divorced parents. 2 birthdays, 2 Christmas', 2 of everything. It was even better for me since I was an only child. My friends and I tried making TV commercials with the then 40 pound video recorder. We played manhunt in the woods across the street. Etc.
If you are a male who grew up in the 80's or 90's, I would recommend reading this book. After reading it you will realize that you weren't the only guy out there with strange ambitions or fantasies.
Well done Bryan!
If you are a male who grew up in the 80's or 90's, I would recommend reading this book. After reading it you will realize that you weren't the only guy out there with strange ambitions or fantasies.
Well done Bryan!
March 5, 2012
I won this book in a goodreads giveaway contest.
Honestly, although the cover is a little boring, the font somewhat strange, the paragraph format odd; this book was highly enjoyable. For anyone who grew up in the late 80's and 90's it's likely to be very nostalgic, as the narrator brings up a lot of things that will certainly remind you of your childhood. From nintendo to Jurassic Park, it's all here in one mans childhood experience. I was smiling the whole time through, especially with the antics that were a bit more unusual. I couldn't believe a few of the things he actually thought about doing, and the fact that his parents were so understanding. I would have loved to have had parents who were so calm and cool, mine would have lectured me for hours if I would have asked some of these things. Of course, I got around this by just never asking...
The style he writes in is very individual and makes the book seem far to short. It was very easy to read, and a couple of times my husband asked me to read things out loud because I was laughing. Considering he's rarely interested in what I'm reading, that says a lot. All in all, I loved this book and would definitely suggest it to a friend who just wanted to be reminded of our own crazy childhood and the things that filled it. I will say however that the cover is really boring! I think it should be more colorful and the font more interesting to showcase what this book has to offer inside. I'm not sure I would have picked this book up to even read the back with the cover it currently has, and I would have been missing out on a great read!
Honestly, although the cover is a little boring, the font somewhat strange, the paragraph format odd; this book was highly enjoyable. For anyone who grew up in the late 80's and 90's it's likely to be very nostalgic, as the narrator brings up a lot of things that will certainly remind you of your childhood. From nintendo to Jurassic Park, it's all here in one mans childhood experience. I was smiling the whole time through, especially with the antics that were a bit more unusual. I couldn't believe a few of the things he actually thought about doing, and the fact that his parents were so understanding. I would have loved to have had parents who were so calm and cool, mine would have lectured me for hours if I would have asked some of these things. Of course, I got around this by just never asking...
The style he writes in is very individual and makes the book seem far to short. It was very easy to read, and a couple of times my husband asked me to read things out loud because I was laughing. Considering he's rarely interested in what I'm reading, that says a lot. All in all, I loved this book and would definitely suggest it to a friend who just wanted to be reminded of our own crazy childhood and the things that filled it. I will say however that the cover is really boring! I think it should be more colorful and the font more interesting to showcase what this book has to offer inside. I'm not sure I would have picked this book up to even read the back with the cover it currently has, and I would have been missing out on a great read!
December 8, 2014
I'm giving this book two stars. One of them is because I got it for free, and free things are great.
The other one is because some how he managed to get this book published.
This is nothing short of something that plays too heavily on the "I don't care but I do care but I'm a loser and trying to look cool to make myself seem like a likable person" thing.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, talk to any misogynistic 13 year old online.
If you think Family Guy is a good show, have a superiority complex, call things that happen to you that are actually relatively normal "random and crazy" all of the time, and love people trying to make themselves look good through feigned modesty please, please read this book. You might actually like it. Or you might just pretend you read it.
If you love yourself and don't want to feel like you've had a chunk of your life sucked from your body in the same way Ursula took Ariel's voice, but with less romance and a more irritating narrator don't read it.
Even as a very seasoned speed reader I can definitely say there is no way to get through this clipping pile fast enough. So if you have to finish everything you start, I recommend not starting at all.
The other one is because some how he managed to get this book published.
This is nothing short of something that plays too heavily on the "I don't care but I do care but I'm a loser and trying to look cool to make myself seem like a likable person" thing.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, talk to any misogynistic 13 year old online.
If you think Family Guy is a good show, have a superiority complex, call things that happen to you that are actually relatively normal "random and crazy" all of the time, and love people trying to make themselves look good through feigned modesty please, please read this book. You might actually like it. Or you might just pretend you read it.
If you love yourself and don't want to feel like you've had a chunk of your life sucked from your body in the same way Ursula took Ariel's voice, but with less romance and a more irritating narrator don't read it.
Even as a very seasoned speed reader I can definitely say there is no way to get through this clipping pile fast enough. So if you have to finish everything you start, I recommend not starting at all.
January 28, 2012
A highly enjoyable, extremely funny anthology of essays from Bryan Healey.
Bryan leads us through a childhood full of obsessions....ranging from his attempts to build a time machine out of his mother's minivan, to deciding to buy his own private mountain, and his life's goal of opening his own dinosaur theme park.
Bryan's stories are both funny and sweet in their child-like enthusiasm. He never takes himself too seriously, and in fact spices up his tales with a healthy dose of sarcasm and self-deprecating humor....all of which only add to the enjoyment of the book. And when Bryan gets somewhat serious in his essay about his Grandfather ("Sport") his emotion feels completely genuine, and in fact touched me greatly. I recently lost my Father and his descriptions of how he felt losing such a formally strong and larger than life figure in his life, hit very close to home with me.
This collection of essays was a joy to read from beginning to end. And if Bryan manages to open up that theme park...i will be first in line for tickets.
My YT Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/Bookgasmic
My blog: http://ravingbookaddict.blogspot.com/
Bryan leads us through a childhood full of obsessions....ranging from his attempts to build a time machine out of his mother's minivan, to deciding to buy his own private mountain, and his life's goal of opening his own dinosaur theme park.
Bryan's stories are both funny and sweet in their child-like enthusiasm. He never takes himself too seriously, and in fact spices up his tales with a healthy dose of sarcasm and self-deprecating humor....all of which only add to the enjoyment of the book. And when Bryan gets somewhat serious in his essay about his Grandfather ("Sport") his emotion feels completely genuine, and in fact touched me greatly. I recently lost my Father and his descriptions of how he felt losing such a formally strong and larger than life figure in his life, hit very close to home with me.
This collection of essays was a joy to read from beginning to end. And if Bryan manages to open up that theme park...i will be first in line for tickets.
My YT Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/Bookgasmic
My blog: http://ravingbookaddict.blogspot.com/
January 3, 2013
Bryan’s Brain is a comedic series of short stories of the life of Bryan Healey. He details a bunch of episodes in his rather entertaining life. I found it to be humorous and I found myself stifling laughter (which would have been strange given my circumstances) multiple times. I really did enjoy the book and all his funny stories in it. Some of the stories revolved around typical child pursuits, trips to Disney, baseball and wanting to explore, while others showed off his more eccentric side – the desire to build his own Jurassic Park or his own time traveling DeLorean.
It was a decent length, although I was slightly disappointed that there weren’t more stories by the time I reached the end. I would be glad to read this again (once I’ve forgotten most of the plot points of course though!)
It was a decent length, although I was slightly disappointed that there weren’t more stories by the time I reached the end. I would be glad to read this again (once I’ve forgotten most of the plot points of course though!)
May 28, 2012
I really enjoyed reading about this overly obsessive, admittedly geeky boy. I had to keep checking the cover to make sure my son hadn't written this book as he is the same age and was very much like Bryan. I loved the whole book but my favorite memories are...
1. Wanting to use his dads car to make a time machine.
2. Telling us about pepe.
3. Thinking his moms mini-van would make a good space ship.
4. Packing up and going to college.
I would have included his Jurassic Park obsession but it hit way to close to home.
I can't wait to see what Bryan's brain thinks up for volume 2.
I got this book free through Goodreads First Reads.
1. Wanting to use his dads car to make a time machine.
2. Telling us about pepe.
3. Thinking his moms mini-van would make a good space ship.
4. Packing up and going to college.
I would have included his Jurassic Park obsession but it hit way to close to home.
I can't wait to see what Bryan's brain thinks up for volume 2.
I got this book free through Goodreads First Reads.
Read
April 5, 2015I love reading memoirs and personal essays so I was really excited to win this book from goodreads. The quote on the cover and the text on the back cover are intriguing enough to pull anyone in.
What I enjoyed about this book is the way Bryan tells stories. He takes snippets of his childhood and retells them in a hilarious manner. He also writes in a way that is meant to give advice to the reader which I found interesting.
I wasn't a fan of the formatting. The text is larger than average and each paragraph has a space in between it. But overall the formatting didn't take away from the interesting and humorous content, which is what really matters.
What I enjoyed about this book is the way Bryan tells stories. He takes snippets of his childhood and retells them in a hilarious manner. He also writes in a way that is meant to give advice to the reader which I found interesting.
I wasn't a fan of the formatting. The text is larger than average and each paragraph has a space in between it. But overall the formatting didn't take away from the interesting and humorous content, which is what really matters.
March 10, 2012
I had won this novel, memoir if you will, in a Goodreads Giveaway, and to be honest, I was not sure what to expect. I do not read many memoirs so I was not sure how I would feel. In the end, I thought this memoir was excellent. It brought me back to memories of my own childhood. It had me laughing, I was even moved at certain points. That being said, I would suggest this book to anyone who wishes to reminisce on the good old days of youth. Therefore, I would give this memoir, 4/5 stars.
January 21, 2021
Cute, Witty little tales of Bryan's younger years. From playing Superman, to baseball tales, to heading off to college. All in playful, fun anecdotes. I can remember myself doing some of these things or even my children.
All told with the greatest imagination and descriptions to make you smile the whole way through, and even laugh out loud once or twice.
Very enjoyable reading. Thank you to Mr. Healey for brightening an otherwise lousy day.
All told with the greatest imagination and descriptions to make you smile the whole way through, and even laugh out loud once or twice.
Very enjoyable reading. Thank you to Mr. Healey for brightening an otherwise lousy day.
March 5, 2012
I received a copy of this book for free from Goodreads through the First Reads program.
This book is great. Super funny, totally believable, and, at one point, almost made me cry. Some of the stories felt like they came from my own childhood. I think I actually squealed and bounced up and down at the mention of an Aptiva. Luckily, no one was in the room.
This book is great. Super funny, totally believable, and, at one point, almost made me cry. Some of the stories felt like they came from my own childhood. I think I actually squealed and bounced up and down at the mention of an Aptiva. Luckily, no one was in the room.
January 16, 2012
Definitely an entertaining read. I like the style it was written in (witty and sarcastic) and the stories were generally interesting. I'm pretty sure I had a smirk on my face the entire time I was reading.
*I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
*I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
March 18, 2012
Reading this book was like hearing the author descibe my little brother's antics and the thought process behind them. It was a crack-up. I had to read it in small bits - kind of like spending time with my little brother.
April 8, 2012
Some reallly funny stories but it lacked an overarching purpose. It read a little bit like comedy routines put on paper, but this was not necessarily a bad thing. Overall an enjoyable break from the other things that I was reading at the time.
January 23, 2012
I enjoyed this book, it was quiet funny at times and made me laugh.
I think people can relate to some of the chapters in the book, I certainly did!
It's a quick read and well written.
I think people can relate to some of the chapters in the book, I certainly did!
It's a quick read and well written.
May 17, 2013
Absolutely LOVED this book. Thanks for the free book
October 22, 2012
THIS ONE HAD TO TAKE SOME TIME BEFORE I COULD GET INTO IT. MAYBE A LITTLE TOO SCATTERED FOR ME.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews