I've had it since it's Indev stage, long before Alpha even. It was very different then to how it is as of Beta 1.8, but I have always liked Minecraft. I got addicted to it in the Summer holidays for about a week or two playing on faction servers, but I barely play it anymore.
I'd personally recommend it to anyone. It contains no violence or profanity in case people are anxious about that sort of stuff, but be warned that it becomes excruciatingly addictive most of the time. Especially with all of the content in 1.8.