ok first off I have no programming experience to don't laugh at me...I am reading a linux book and just attempted my first shell script..here is the exact copy

#!/bin/bash

echo "Please enter your first name"
read $firstname
echo "Hello $firstname I hope you are doing well"

so I run the script and put my name "brad" and expect it so say..."hello brad I hope you are doing well...but instead it says "hello I hope you are doing well"

now I know this is not rocket science..how the heck will I ever learn shell scripting if I can't make this work

It's a slight mistake. The script should be:
Use the '$' prefix to substitute the contents of the variable. Omit the '$' to refer to the variable itself. In the read, you want the data to go into firstname. In the echo you want to display the contents of firstname.

EDIT:
As a side note, I would suggest getting into the habit of referring to variable contents with the ${} notation. For example:
It makes the code completely clear as to what variable is being substituted. It's also necessary in some other advanced techniques which I'm sure you'll learn about in due time

read $firstname

drop the dollar sign there

shebangs shebangs...it works now thank...