title: Python 3.5: How to read a db of JSON objects
body: <p>so I'm new to working with JSON and I'm trying to work with the <a href="https://github.com/fictivekin/openrecipes" rel="nofollow noreferrer">openrecipe database from here.</a>  The db dump you get looks like this...</p>
  <pre><code>{ &quot;_id&quot; : { &quot;$oid&quot; : &quot;5160756d96cc62079cc2db16&quot; }, &quot;name&quot; : &quot;Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches&quot;, &quot;ingredients&quot; : &quot;12 whole Dinner Rolls Or Small Sandwich Buns (I Used Whole Wheat)\n1 pound Thinly Shaved Roast Beef Or Ham (or Both!)\n1 pound Cheese (Provolone, Swiss, Mozzarella, Even Cheez Whiz!)\n1/4 cup Mayonnaise\n3 Tablespoons Grated Onion (or 1 Tbsp Dried Onion Flakes))\n1 Tablespoon Poppy Seeds\n1 Tablespoon Spicy Mustard\n1 Tablespoon Horseradish Mayo Or Straight Prepared Horseradish\n Dash Of Worcestershire\n Optional Dressing Ingredients: Sriracha, Hot Sauce, Dried Onion Flakes Instead Of Fresh, Garlic Powder, Pepper, Etc.)&quot;, &quot;url&quot; : &quot;http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013/03/hot-roast-beef-sandwiches/&quot;, &quot;image&quot; : &quot;http://static.thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/files/2013/03/sandwiches.jpg&quot;, &quot;ts&quot; : { &quot;$date&quot; : 1365276013902 }, &quot;cookTime&quot; : &quot;PT20M&quot;, &quot;source&quot; : &quot;thepioneerwoman&quot;, &quot;recipeYield&quot; : &quot;12&quot;, &quot;datePublished&quot; : &quot;2013-03-13&quot;, &quot;prepTime&quot; : &quot;PT20M&quot;, &quot;description&quot; : &quot;When I was growing up, I participated in my Episcopal church's youth group, and I have lots of memories of weekly meetings wh...&quot; }
  { &quot;_id&quot; : { &quot;$oid&quot; : &quot;5160756f96cc6207a37ff777&quot; }, &quot;name&quot; : &quot;Morrocan Carrot and Chickpea Salad&quot;, &quot;ingredients&quot; : &quot;Dressing:\n1 tablespoon cumin seeds\n1/3 cup / 80 ml extra virgin olive oil\n2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice\n1 tablespoon honey\n1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste\n1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper\n10 ounces carrots, shredded on a box grater or sliced whisper thin on a mandolin\n2 cups cooked chickpeas (or one 15- ounce can, drained and rinsed)\n2/3 cup / 100 g  dried pluots, plums, or dates cut into chickpea-sized pieces\n1/3 cup / 30 g fresh mint, torn\nFor serving: lots of toasted almond slices, dried or fresh rose petals - all optional (but great additions!)&quot;, &quot;url&quot; : &quot;http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/moroccan-carrot-and-chickpea-salad-recipe.html&quot;, &quot;image&quot; : &quot;http://www.101cookbooks.com/mt-static/images/food/moroccan_carrot_salad_recipe.jpg&quot;, &quot;ts&quot; : { &quot;$date&quot; : 1365276015332 }, &quot;datePublished&quot; : &quot;2013-01-07&quot;, &quot;source&quot; : &quot;101cookbooks&quot;, &quot;prepTime&quot; : &quot;PT15M&quot;, &quot;description&quot; : &quot;A beauty of a carrot salad - tricked out with chickpeas, chunks of dried pluots, sliced almonds, and a toasted cumin dressing. Thank you Diane Morgan.&quot; }
  { &quot;_id&quot; : { &quot;$oid&quot; : &quot;5160757096cc62079cc2db17&quot; }, &quot;name&quot; : &quot;Mixed Berry Shortcake&quot;, &quot;ingredients&quot; : &quot;Biscuits\n3 cups All-purpose Flour\n2 Tablespoons Baking Powder\n3 Tablespoons Sugar\n1/2 teaspoon Salt\n1-1/2 stick (3/4 Cup) Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces\n1-1/4 cup Buttermilk\n1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract (optional)\n Berries\n2 pints Mixed Berries And/or Sliced Strawberries\n1/3 cup Sugar\n Zest And Juice Of 1 Small Orange\n SWEET YOGURT CREAM\n1 package (7 Ounces) Plain Greek Yogurt\n1 cup Cold Heavy Cream\n1/2 cup Sugar\n2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar&quot;, &quot;url&quot; : &quot;http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013/03/mixed-berry-shortcake/&quot;, &quot;image&quot; : &quot;http://static.thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/files/2013/03/shortcake.jpg&quot;, &quot;ts&quot; : { &quot;$date&quot; : 1365276016700 }, &quot;cookTime&quot; : &quot;PT15M&quot;, &quot;source&quot; : &quot;thepioneerwoman&quot;, &quot;recipeYield&quot; : &quot;8&quot;, &quot;datePublished&quot; : &quot;2013-03-18&quot;, &quot;prepTime&quot; : &quot;PT15M&quot;, &quot;description&quot; : &quot;It's Monday! It's a brand new week! The birds are chirping! The coffee's brewing! Everything has such hope and promise!     A...&quot; }
  </code></pre>
  <p>I tried the following code to read in the database</p>
  <pre><code>import json
      
  f = r'&lt;file_path&gt;\recipeitems-latest.json'
  
  with open(f) as dfile:
      data = json.load(dfile)
  
  print(data)
  </code></pre>
  <p>With this I received the following Traceback</p>
  <pre><code>Traceback (most recent call last):
    File &quot;C:/Users/&lt;redacted&gt;/Documents/&lt;redacted&gt;/project/test_json.py&quot;, line 7, in &lt;module&gt;
      data = json.load(dfile)
    File &quot;C:\Users\&lt;redacted&gt;\AppData\Local\Continuum\Anaconda3\Lib\json\__init__.py&quot;, line 265, in load
      return loads(fp.read(),
    File &quot;C:\Users\&lt;redacted&gt;\AppData\Local\Continuum\Anaconda3\Lib\encodings\cp1252.py&quot;, line 23, in decode
      return codecs.charmap_decode(input,self.errors,decoding_table)[0]
  UnicodeDecodeError: 'charmap' codec can't decode byte 0x9d in position 101915: character maps to &lt;undefined&gt;
  </code></pre>
  <p>The only way I could find around this error was to only have one entry in the json file.  Is the db formatted incorrectly or am I reading in the data wrong?</p>
  <p>Thanks for any help!</p>