diff --git a/plugins/inputs/reader/reader.go b/plugins/inputs/reader/reader.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..74b180e25
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/inputs/reader/reader.go
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+package reader
+
+import (
+	"io/ioutil"
+	"log"
+
+	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf"
+	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/internal/globpath"
+	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/plugins/parsers"
+)
+
+type Reader struct {
+	Filepaths     []string `toml:"files"`
+	FromBeginning bool
+	DataFormat    string `toml:"data_format"`
+	ParserConfig  parsers.Config
+	Parser        parsers.Parser
+	Tags          []string
+
+	Filenames []string
+}
+
+const sampleConfig = `## Log files to parse.
+## These accept standard unix glob matching rules, but with the addition of
+## ** as a "super asterisk". ie:
+##   /var/log/**.log     -> recursively find all .log files in /var/log
+##   /var/log/*/*.log    -> find all .log files with a parent dir in /var/log
+##   /var/log/apache.log -> only tail the apache log file
+files = ["/var/log/apache/access.log"]
+
+## The dataformat to be read from files
+## Each data format has its own unique set of configuration options, read
+## more about them here:
+## https://github.com/influxdata/telegraf/blob/master/docs/DATA_FORMATS_INPUT.md
+data_format = ""
+'''`
+
+// SampleConfig returns the default configuration of the Input
+func (r *Reader) SampleConfig() string {
+	return sampleConfig
+}
+
+func (r *Reader) Description() string {
+	return "reload and gather from file[s] on telegraf's interval"
+}
+
+func (r *Reader) Gather(acc telegraf.Accumulator) error {
+	r.refreshFilePaths()
+	for _, k := range r.Filenames {
+		metrics, err := r.readMetric(k)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		for _, m := range metrics {
+			acc.AddFields(m.Name(), m.Fields(), m.Tags())
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (r *Reader) compileParser() {
+	if r.DataFormat == "grok" {
+		log.Printf("Grok isn't supported yet")
+		return
+	}
+	r.ParserConfig = parsers.Config{
+		DataFormat: r.DataFormat,
+		TagKeys:    r.Tags,
+	}
+	nParser, err := parsers.NewParser(&r.ParserConfig)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Printf("E! Error building parser: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	r.Parser = nParser
+}
+
+func (r *Reader) refreshFilePaths() {
+	var allFiles []string
+	for _, filepath := range r.Filepaths {
+		g, err := globpath.Compile(filepath)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Printf("E! Error Glob %s failed to compile, %s", filepath, err)
+			continue
+		}
+		files := g.Match()
+
+		for k := range files {
+			allFiles = append(allFiles, k)
+		}
+	}
+
+	r.Filenames = allFiles
+}
+
+//requires that Parser has been compiled
+func (r *Reader) readMetric(filename string) ([]telegraf.Metric, error) {
+	fileContents, err := ioutil.ReadFile(filename)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Printf("E! File could not be opened: %v", filename)
+	}
+
+	return r.Parser.Parse(fileContents)
+
+}
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/reader/reader_test.go b/plugins/inputs/reader/reader_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e073a6f54
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/inputs/reader/reader_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+package reader
+
+import (
+	"log"
+	"runtime"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/testutil"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+)
+
+func TestRefreshFilePaths(t *testing.T) {
+	testDir := getPluginDir()
+	r := Reader{
+		Filepaths: []string{testDir + "/logparser/grok/testdata/**.log"},
+	}
+
+	r.refreshFilePaths()
+	//log.Printf("filenames: %v", filenames)
+	assert.Equal(t, len(r.Filenames), 2)
+}
+func TestJSONParserCompile(t *testing.T) {
+	testDir := getPluginDir()
+	var acc testutil.Accumulator
+	r := Reader{
+		Filepaths:  []string{testDir + "/reader/testfiles/**.log"},
+		DataFormat: "json",
+		Tags:       []string{"parent_ignored_child"},
+	}
+	r.compileParser()
+	r.Gather(&acc)
+	log.Printf("acc: %v", acc.Metrics[0].Tags)
+	assert.Equal(t, map[string]string{"parent_ignored_child": "hi"}, acc.Metrics[0].Tags)
+	assert.Equal(t, 5, len(acc.Metrics[0].Fields))
+}
+
+func getPluginDir() string {
+	_, filename, _, _ := runtime.Caller(1)
+	return strings.Replace(filename, "/reader/reader_test.go", "", 1)
+}
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/reader/testfiles/json_a.log b/plugins/inputs/reader/testfiles/json_a.log
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..739fd65d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/inputs/reader/testfiles/json_a.log
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+{
+		"parent": {
+			"child": 3.0,
+			"ignored_child": "hi"
+		},
+		"ignored_null": null,
+		"integer": 4,
+		"list": [3, 4],
+		"ignored_parent": {
+			"another_ignored_null": null,
+			"ignored_string": "hello, world!"
+		},
+		"another_list": [4]
+	}
\ No newline at end of file