I want to say that I started reading a lot of books when I was a child and I continue to do so. So is the present perfect continuous the right tense or should it be the present perfect simple?
I've been reading a lot of books since I was a child.
Or
I have read a lot of books since I was a child.
I think I've read means I'm finished reading them and doesn't imply I still read a lot of books.
Doesn't I've been reading mean I'm still reading the same books as in I haven't finished them?
The following passage is from Grammarly 1:
The present perfect tense is one of the common verb tenses in English, used to show an action that happened in the past that is directly related to the present, such as actions that are still continuing or that indicate a change over time.
So I have read a lot of books since I was a child doesn't mean that I read the books and I now I don't read books anymore.
The following text is from Cambridge Dictionary 2:
Present perfect continuous: uses
Recent past activities
We use the present perfect continuous to talk about a finished activity in the recent past. Using the present perfect continuous focuses on the activity.
We don’t give a specific time. Even though the activity is finished, we can see the result in the present:
I’ve just been cleaning the car. (The car is wet and clean.)**
It’s been snowing. (The ground is covered in snow.)**
What have you been buying?
One continuing event
We use the present perfect continuous for a single activity that began at a point in the past and is still continuing:
I’ve been reading your book – it’s great. (I’m still reading it.)
He’s been living in the village since 1995. (He is still living in the village.)
She has been writing her autobiography since 1987.
Repeated continuing events We use the present perfect continuous to talk about repeated activities which started at a particular time in the past and are still continuing up until now:
I’ve been going to Spain on holiday every year since 1987.
I haven’t been eating much lunch lately. I’ve been going to the gym at lunchtimes.
She’s been playing tennis on and off for three years.
How long …?
We often use the present perfect continuous to ask and answer questions about the duration of an activity. We use the question How long … + present perfect continuous:
A: How long have you been waiting for me?
B: About ten minutes. Not too long. (I’ve been waiting for about ten minutes.)
So both your sentences I have read a lot of books since I was a child and I've been reading a lot of books since I was a child are correct.
"I've been reading a lot of books.", to me, conveys the idea that you've recently read a lot of books with the implication that this is new trend for you.
With the full sentence you presented: "I've been reading a lot of books since I was a child." seems awkward and contradictory. It's contradictory for the reason I listed above. It's additionally awkward because "since" can essentially mean "because". To make "since" unambiguously refer to time you can say "ever since"
Alternatively, "I read a lot of books since I was a child." seems to mean that you've read a large amount of books but it doesn't necessarily convey "and I continue to do so"
To convey both ideas, without changing the sentence structure too much, I'd probably say "Ever since I was a child, I've always read a lot of books"
