diff --git a/src/ipdb.rs b/src/ipdb.rs
index cbd5dcf..cdb17b5 100644
--- a/src/ipdb.rs
+++ b/src/ipdb.rs
@@ -182,8 +182,12 @@ impl DbType {
         self,
     ) -> crate::Result<maxminddb::Reader<maxminddb::Mmap>> {
         let path = self.db_path().await?;
-        maxminddb::Reader::open_mmap(path).wrap_err_with(move || {
-            format!("failed to open IP database: {}", self.name())
+        let name = self.name();
+        tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
+            maxminddb::Reader::open_mmap(path).wrap_err_with(move || {
+                format!("failed to open IP database: {name}")
+            })
         })
+        .await?
     }
 }