diff --git a/gds/reader.py b/gds/reader.py
index 9cd9946..ff7a538 100644
--- a/gds/reader.py
+++ b/gds/reader.py
@@ -27,12 +27,16 @@ class Reader(ProgressGetter):
 
         return self.current / self.total
 
+    @property
+    def total(self):
+        return self._total
+
     def __init__(self, file):
         self.stream = file
 
         # find file size
         self.stream.seek(0, 2)
-        self.total = self.stream.tell()
+        self._total = self.stream.tell()
         self.stream.seek(0, 0)
 
     def skip(self, n):