Kevin Spacey is writing a book about the art of letter writing.

The 'American Beauty' star loves reading letters from people sharing their intimate feelings with each other so much he has decided to put pen to paper himself and write a nonfiction tome all about the art.

He said: ''I am a memorabilia nut. I love letters. I love holding real letters in my hand.

''To have a letter written by Tennessee Williams, John Wayne or Spencer Tracy, and read about something that is personal but not gossipy, expressing oneself to a friend, unique and funny and compelling, I love that.

''So I am doing a book about the art of letter writing.''

The 55-year-old actor - who left his role as the artistic director at the Old Vic theatre in London last year after a decade at the helm - is also planning to reinvigorate his music career by working on some new songs within the next 10 years.

When asked if he has a sense of where he will be in a decade's time, he told GQ magazine: ''Not completely. Books and music will be part of it. I love singing. I want new songs to work with.''