Here's some answers to your questions:
Python is an excellent language for beginners looking to learn OO design/programming.
As far as books and websites, the best python book I've read is available free online
Mark Pilgrim's Dive into Python.
For web programming there are many many options. You mention Django which is the most popular although I like Turbogears, Cherrypy and web.py. All of these have their own webserver built-in (Based on paste or cherrypy)
For hosting, it's usually based on fastcgi or Apache's mod_python.
I've heard really good reports of webfaction for python based hosting.
Hope this helps, but if you are learning php why not go for Apress's PHP Objects, Patterns, and Practice that's a good book.
