diff --git a/linux_spi.c b/linux_spi.c
index de09e60..e3d7486 100644
--- a/linux_spi.c
+++ b/linux_spi.c
@@ -137,8 +137,7 @@
 	}
 
 	char buf[10];
-	memset(buf, 0, sizeof(buf));
-	if (!fread(buf, 1, sizeof(buf) - 1, fp)) {
+	if (!fgets(buf, sizeof(buf), fp)) {
 		if (feof(fp))
 			msg_pwarn("Cannot read %s: file is empty.\n", BUF_SIZE_FROM_SYSFS);
 		else