diff --git a/read.go b/read.go
index 7ddad508..033bada4 100644
--- a/read.go
+++ b/read.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package pgio
 
 import (
+	"bytes"
 	"encoding/binary"
 )
 
@@ -38,3 +39,13 @@ func NextInt64(buf []byte) ([]byte, int64) {
 	buf, n := NextUint64(buf)
 	return buf, int64(n)
 }
+
+func NextCString(buf []byte) ([]byte, string, bool) {
+	idx := bytes.IndexByte(buf, 0)
+	if idx < 0 {
+		return buf, "", false
+	}
+	cstring := string(buf[:idx])
+	buf = buf[:idx+1]
+	return buf, cstring, true
+}