Like Janice said, crochet can be as simple or complicated as you want it to be. I prefer simple patterns where you repeat the same set of stitches row after row - it makes it easier to "cruise" through without having to pay a close attention to what you're doing.

My sister (the spinner) taught herself knitting, but could never get very fast at it. When I showed her how to crochet, her response was something like, "why have I been doing this the hard way this whole time?" She found that she could crochet much faster than she could knit.