I second "the Historian" - well written. It's a thick book but I couldn't put it down! (and that's why I don't read in bed. I'll never go to sleep). If you like that one, look for books by Sarah Dunant (birth of Venus and In the company of Courtesan). These two books are set in old Italy.

Other books that I really like include:

Blindness by Jose Saramago (now a motion picture but the book is better)
Atonement by Ian McEwan (yes, another movie from book. Both movie and book are excellent)
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (tear jerker)
A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman (non-fiction)
Eat, Prey, Love: one woman's search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert (auto-biography?? written really well)
Gods behaving badly by Marie Phillips (fluff by very very funny)
I Served the King of England by Bohumil Hrabal (my first book from Czech and still am very fond of it. Yes, now it's a motion picture too. What is it with books I read turning into movies??)