Parse contents of the README.

def parse_readme():
    """Parse contents of the README."""
    # Get the long description from the relevant file
    here = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__))
    readme_path = os.path.join(here, 'README.md')
    with codecs.open(readme_path, encoding='utf-8') as handle:
        long_description = handle.read()

    return long_description