diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 5eda47c..c6d2d17 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,11 @@
+## 2.2.0
+
+Features
+  - Opt in support for sending exceptions in a background thread to not block web request thread during IO ([#117](https://github.com/MindscapeHQ/raygun4ruby/pull/117))
+
+Bugfixes
+ - Don't attempt to read raw data during GET requests or if rack.input buffer is empty
+
 ## 2.1.0
 
 Features
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c682060..f49721f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ You can then test your Raygun integration by running:
 
 You should see an "ItWorksException" appear in your Raygun dashboard. You're ready to zap those errors!
 
-NB: Raygun4Ruby currently requires Ruby >= 1.9
+NB: Raygun4Ruby currently requires Ruby >= 2.0
 
 Note that the generator will create a file in `config/initializers` called "raygun.rb". If you need to do any further configuration or customization of Raygun, that's the place to do it!
 
diff --git a/lib/raygun.rb b/lib/raygun.rb
index 213c234..21dfc9f 100644
--- a/lib/raygun.rb
+++ b/lib/raygun.rb
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+require "concurrent"
 require "httparty"
 require "logger"
 require "json"
@@ -54,25 +55,10 @@ def configured?
     end
 
     def track_exception(exception_instance, env = {}, user = nil, retry_count = 1)
-      if should_report?(exception_instance)
-        log("[Raygun] Tracking Exception...")
-        Client.new.track_exception(exception_instance, env, user)
-      end
-    rescue Exception => e
-      if configuration.failsafe_logger
-        failsafe_log("Problem reporting exception to Raygun: #{e.class}: #{e.message}\n\n#{e.backtrace.join("\n")}")
-      end
-
-      if retry_count > 0
-        new_exception = e.exception("raygun4ruby encountered an exception processing your exception")
-        new_exception.set_backtrace(e.backtrace)
-
-        env[:custom_data] ||= {}
-        env[:custom_data].merge!(original_stacktrace: exception_instance.backtrace)
-
-        track_exception(new_exception, env, user, retry_count - 1)
+      if configuration.send_in_background
+        track_exception_async(exception_instance, env, user, retry_count)
       else
-        raise e
+        track_exception_sync(exception_instance, env, user, retry_count)
       end
     end
 
@@ -122,6 +108,39 @@ def deprecation_warning(message)
 
     private
 
+    def track_exception_async(*args)
+      future = Concurrent::Future.execute { track_exception_sync(*args) }
+      future.add_observer(lambda do |_, value, reason|
+        if value == nil || value.response.code != "202"
+          log("[Raygun] unexpected response from Raygun, could indicate error: #{value.inspect}")
+        end
+      end, :call)
+    end
+
+    def track_exception_sync(exception_instance, env, user, retry_count)
+      if should_report?(exception_instance)
+        log("[Raygun] Tracking Exception...")
+        Client.new.track_exception(exception_instance, env, user)
+      end
+    rescue Exception => e
+      if configuration.failsafe_logger
+        failsafe_log("Problem reporting exception to Raygun: #{e.class}: #{e.message}\n\n#{e.backtrace.join("\n")}")
+      end
+
+      if retry_count > 0
+        new_exception = e.exception("raygun4ruby encountered an exception processing your exception")
+        new_exception.set_backtrace(e.backtrace)
+
+        env[:custom_data] ||= {}
+        env[:custom_data].merge!(original_stacktrace: exception_instance.backtrace)
+
+        track_exception(new_exception, env, user, retry_count - 1)
+      else
+        raise e
+      end
+    end
+
+
     def print_api_key_warning
       $stderr.puts(NO_API_KEY_MESSAGE)
     end
diff --git a/lib/raygun/client.rb b/lib/raygun/client.rb
index 8f21c2b..18476db 100644
--- a/lib/raygun/client.rb
+++ b/lib/raygun/client.rb
@@ -136,8 +136,11 @@ def raw_data(rack_env)
 
         request = Rack::Request.new(rack_env)
         input = rack_env['rack.input']
+        return if request.get?
 
-        if input && !request.form_data?
+        # If size is 0 the buffer is at best empty and at worst
+        # something like the Puma::NullIO buffer which is missing methods
+        if input && input.size && !request.form_data?
           current_position = input.pos
           input.rewind
 
diff --git a/lib/raygun/configuration.rb b/lib/raygun/configuration.rb
index 9869394..5ab5ec1 100644
--- a/lib/raygun/configuration.rb
+++ b/lib/raygun/configuration.rb
@@ -74,6 +74,9 @@ def self.proc_config_option(name)
     # form submissions and will not be filtered by the blacklist
     config_option :record_raw_data
 
+    # Should the exceptions to Raygun be sent asynchronously?
+    config_option :send_in_background
+
     # Exception classes to ignore by default
     IGNORE_DEFAULT = ['ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound',
                       'ActionController::RoutingError',
@@ -111,7 +114,7 @@ def initialize
       @config_values = {}
 
       # set default attribute values
-      @defaults = OpenStruct.new({
+      @defaults = OpenStruct.new(
         ignore:                        IGNORE_DEFAULT,
         custom_data:                   {},
         tags:                          [],
@@ -125,8 +128,9 @@ def initialize
         debug:                         false,
         api_url:                       'https://api.raygun.io/',
         breadcrumb_level:              :info,
-        record_raw_data:               false
-      })
+        record_raw_data:               false,
+        send_in_background:            false
+      )
     end
 
     def [](key)
diff --git a/lib/raygun/version.rb b/lib/raygun/version.rb
index af848f2..a6196d5 100644
--- a/lib/raygun/version.rb
+++ b/lib/raygun/version.rb
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 module Raygun
-  VERSION = "2.1.0"
+  VERSION = "2.2.0"
 end
diff --git a/raygun4ruby.gemspec b/raygun4ruby.gemspec
index 365992f..c181231 100644
--- a/raygun4ruby.gemspec
+++ b/raygun4ruby.gemspec
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |spec|
   spec.add_runtime_dependency "httparty", "> 0.13.7"
   spec.add_runtime_dependency "json"
   spec.add_runtime_dependency "rack"
+  spec.add_runtime_dependency "concurrent-ruby"
 
   spec.add_development_dependency "bundler", ">= 1.1"
   spec.add_development_dependency "rake", "0.9.6"
diff --git a/test/unit/client_test.rb b/test/unit/client_test.rb
index 2c25972..e32482f 100644
--- a/test/unit/client_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/client_test.rb
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ def test_getting_request_information
       queryString: { "a" => "b", "c" => "4945438" },
       headers:     { "Version"=>"HTTP/1.1", "Host"=>"localhost:3000", "Cookie"=>"cookieval" },
       form:        {},
-      rawData:     {}
+      rawData:     nil
     }
 
     assert_equal expected_hash, @client.send(:request_information, env_hash)
@@ -550,7 +550,7 @@ def test_filter_payload_with_whitelist_default_request_get
       queryString: { "a" => "b", "c" => "4945438" },
       headers:     { "Version"=>"HTTP/1.1", "Host"=>"localhost:3000", "Cookie"=>"cookieval" },
       form:        {},
-      rawData:     {}
+      rawData:     nil
     }
 
     details = @client.send(:build_payload_hash, test_exception, env_hash)[:details]
@@ -574,7 +574,7 @@ def test_filter_payload_with_whitelist_default_request_get_except_querystring
       queryString: "[FILTERED]",
       headers:     { "Version"=>"HTTP/1.1", "Host"=>"localhost:3000", "Cookie"=>"cookieval" },
       form:        {},
-      rawData:     {}
+      rawData:     nil
     }
 
     details = @client.send(:build_payload_hash, test_exception, sample_env_hash)[:details]
@@ -597,7 +597,7 @@ def test_filter_payload_with_whitelist_being_false_does_not_filter_query_string
       queryString: { "a" => "b", "c" => "4945438" },
       headers:     { "Version"=>"HTTP/1.1", "Host"=>"localhost:3000", "Cookie"=>"cookieval" },
       form:        {},
-      rawData:     {}
+      rawData:     nil
     }
 
     details = @client.send(:build_payload_hash, test_exception, env_hash)[:details]
diff --git a/test/unit/configuration_test.rb b/test/unit/configuration_test.rb
index 39291d8..abad5e3 100644
--- a/test/unit/configuration_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/configuration_test.rb
@@ -159,4 +159,8 @@ def test_breadcrumb_level_default
   def test_record_raw_data_default
     assert_equal false, Raygun.configuration.record_raw_data
   end
+
+  def test_send_in_background_default
+    assert_equal false, Raygun.configuration.send_in_background
+  end
 end