I know this has probably been discussed, but I wanted some thoughts.

Are these worth it? Not looking to do anything crazy with a laptop, something to have around the house for surfing and some word processing. Are these good for the price? Also, any suggestions on which model to get? There seem to be 100 options out there....

Thanks in advance

Sounds like it would fit the bill for you. We have the Toshiba chromebook and are happy with it. Printing can be tricky if you have an old printer that doesn't support Google Cloud Print. It doesn't compare to my Macbook Pro but it also didn't cost $1600.

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-CB35-B3340-13-3-Inch-Chromebook-Full-HD/dp/B00N99FXIS/ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1432318490&sr=1-6&keywords=chromebook

Read this: http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-chromebook/

Very good for the price. Had an older model for spare computer and then actually purchased the bigger screen version yesterday for parents.