def read(self):
        value = []
        while self._value:
            # get an item from list of replies
            dbtuple = self._value.pop(0)
            # the item is a tuple, get the first value
            dbvalue = dbtuple[0]
            # convert value from string and return it
            try:
                value.extend(json.loads(dbvalue))
            except ValueError:
                _log.error("No value decoded - possibly corrupt file")
        self._popped_values += len(value)
        return value