When I travel, the Kindle is a godsend -- I can take hundreds of books with me! -- but otherwise I prefer hard copy.

I've found mine very helpful for managing school readings- much easier to lug around then a textbook.

I absolutely love my Kindle. I'm sure you'll be able to replace the cracked screen at a computer store. I have about 600 books I could send you, a mixed bag of things.

I love my Kindle, and giving one to my Bear was one of my best gift ideas yet.

I'd get the screen repaired. You need not ever pay for a book to use a Kindle -- books can be borrowed electronically from the library and found in lots of places online for free. And if you do buy, electronic books are more affordable than the actual versions in most cases.

I'd add that you can get quite hooked on Kindle features like word and foreign phrase lookups, not to mention how easy it is to bookmark, highlight, and make notes.

P.S. I now "read" books in at least 3 formats at once -- via mp3 on my car stereo, via the Audible app on my smartphone, in traditional format, and on my Kindle. I always have at least 4 books underway. I much prefer that to just carting one book around from place to place.

Not to mention it's getting really hard to walk in my apartment with all the books.

Kindles are worth it but I don't know if this old Kindle is worth saving. From what I can tell it's a first gen model, which makes me think it's unlikely you will find a replacement screen. And if you do, I'm not sure it's worth the expense since you can buy a brand new Kindle for $69. Or maybe a 3rd or 4th gen Kindle for up to $50. They got a LOT better starting with the 3rd gen models.

Mullacc is right about that. If you want the perfect Kindle, I'll add that I love my Paperwhite more than any prior Kindle. You can get one of those on Amazon for $120, and on Ebay for less than that.

Except at work, I don't read hardcopy books anymore (and if I had the digital format for my students available, I would use it there, too). I think of a "book" as its content, rather than its format anyway. Plus I'm way spoiled with my nearly 48 year old eyes by being able to enlarge the text to my heart's delight (I forget how tiny the text is on regular books).

That said, get yourself the latest and greatest in eReaders -- you won't regret it (tablets are great, too, if you'd like more versatility, and Kindle Fire's getting cheaper all the time).

I prefer actual books, but if I had a free Kindle, it would be useful for carrying a bunch of books while traveling. Some libraries have ebooks.