2008 Honda Accord v6 had the timing belt break. Took it in to my mechanic. He replaced the belt and water pump but the car obviously still had issues. Diagnosis is belt valves at a minimum. The car will not drive. His recommendation was to either replace the engine ($4.5k), or repair the valves ($3k). Too much money if I can avoid it.

I'm decently mechanically inclined, but never done anything this serious. Best I've done is replace the spider fuel injector on my old Chevy. However, I want to give this a try. Partly to save money, and partly to increase my knowledge. I figure worst case I fail, send it to the mechanic, and pay a grand or two more. I accept that as a possible outcome.
Here are my questions:

1. Options are to repair the damage or replace the engine. I want to try the repair as that would be cheaper if successful, but I'm open to the replacement. Sound okay?
2. Assuming repair, what are some good resources to help me learn what this will entail and how to do it? Books, generic videos, websites, etc. I'm going to get a service manual. Brief research suggests bent valves need to be replaced, possibly bent pistons, getting the heads machined, and replacing the gaskets along the way. I don't actually know what this would mean I have to do, though. Is anyone willing to give me an ELI14?
3. Replacing the engine itself seems like it would be technically easier, but require more equipment and just generally be more expensive. Any advice if we decide to go this route? And same question on resource recommendation.

I do realize this is an intimidating project, but I really want to get my feet wet even if it ends in a failure. Any answers to my specific questions or general advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!