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I am reading a book and I started reading it a few days ago. I haven't finished it yet. I would like to know the difference between these two sentences.

  1. I am reading a great book this week.

  2. I have been reading a great book this week.

Centaurus
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حفيد عمر ابن الخطاب
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    There is no substantial difference in meaning. The main difference is that, with the second, one kind of expects a further elaboration of some sort. – Hot Licks Apr 06 '20 at 19:34
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    You can find your answer here How do the tens­es and as­pects in English cor­re­spond tem­po­ral­ly to one an­oth­er? – Centaurus Apr 06 '20 at 19:36
  • Translating into elementary English. @HotLicks says that there is no big difference in meaning. The main difference is that with the second sentence, we may expect a more complex sentence. – Centaurus Apr 06 '20 at 19:52
  • @Centaurus - Not a more complex sentence, but a second sentence following the first that further explains how the book was "great". – Hot Licks Apr 06 '20 at 19:56
  • @HotLicks by "more complex" I mean longer and more detailed. – Centaurus Apr 06 '20 at 20:03
  • The present perfect continuous tense indicates past action with present effect, so I'm not finished and still reading it at present, but I'm NOT at this present moment actively engaged in the action of reading, meaning I'm still reading it, but it's not actually open right now before my eyes with my eyes poring over the words. While "I am reading a great book this week" could mean that too, it could also mean I haven't even started reading it yet, just like "I'm going to a great concert this week" means I haven't started going to it yet, something "have been reading" definitely rules out. – Benjamin Harman May 01 '21 at 23:25

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If we use your question as an example:

1 I am reading a book this week - I started reading it a few days ago. I haven't finished it yet.

The present tense implies a current action that is in progress as you speak and will continue into the future. It minimises the emphasis on the reading up until the present.

2 I have been reading a book this week - I started reading it a few days ago. I haven't finished it yet.

The past perfect refers to the time that was spent reading between opening the book for the first time and the moment before the sentence was spoken. It allows for the possibility that you have stopped reading it without actually stating that possibility.

Greybeard
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