This should be the go-to for anyone trying to play the more traditional bard archetype. I adore the bard archetype in fiction, but the bard of D&D tends to push people towards this "magical prankster" instead of a historian of the realms. Which is fine, but I think the bard would be more appealing if people could just figure out how to get that kind of concept across.

Step One: "Kingkiller Chronicles" by Patrick Rothfuss Step Two: This book. Print it out, read these stories, and let them inspire your own tales.

Inspirational fluff like this is the kind of thing I wish I had appreciated much earlier on in my D&D hobby life.