halin's commonplace

• beware, i read dostoyevsky • infj-a • 25 • she/her • m.a english literature • bombay, india •

[haly-reads]

hola! i am halin roche, a 25 yr old postgraduate living in bombay, india, juggling between notes and book stacks. i love languages, history, poetry, mythology and art. i write, work as an editor, and sometimes teach for a living! i also run my own literary magazine called chasing shadows! you can also find me at: // linktree // goodreads // substack // archiveofourown // fanfiction // good day! ✨

halin | Instagram | Linktree

a 24 year old postgraduate| teacher | writer

[haly-reads]

Do you think The Chosen Season 6 is going to have a song and dance number where King Herod and his servants sing a song and dance when Jesus arrives? We see Herod dancing in the trailer.

[haly-reads]

"So you pray to God a lot, Sonya?"

One of the most profound moments in Dosto's Crime and Punishment is when Raskolnikov asks Sonya to read the Lazarus from the Bible. It shows his resistance towards faith as well as his desperation to cling to it, through Sonya, whom he sees as the epitome symbol of human suffering. The whole book is filled with ramblings of Raskolnikov, but this point is when he stops talking and starts listening.

On days like this, I often return to this part of the book. Because it shows that there is hope for redemption, although through a difficult path of confession, acceptance, love and guilt.

[haly-reads]

15 feb, '26: love letters and confessions, just not always addressed. 💌

[haly-reads]

jan 26, '26: a few hopefuls for 2026 💌

[classicslesbianopinions]

ctrl+f is one of the greatest things to happen to academia and indeed this world

[weltenwellen]

An Interview with Richard Siken

[alwaysbeenjessica]

learning that curiosity is at the root of all that i do, and making space for it instead of running away

[haly-reads]

“To be too conscious is an illness—a real thorough-going illness.” ~ Dosto

much of the discourse in notes from the underground is around hyperconsciousness and the evils surrounding it. it's the constant awareness of one's feelings, motives and actions and also how others might interpret it. hyperconsciousness kills spontaneity. it creates a web in your mind that keeps becoming intricate with persistent thoughts and over-explanations.

isn't it something relatable? to me, it is indeed!

[haly-reads]

read here!

[haly-reads]

28 dec, '25: good food, good mood!

[haly-reads]

28 dec, '25: mount mary church, bandra//

[haly-reads]

26 nov, '25: hello 🌝🐤haven’t been very active here lately, life threw in an end of the year plot twist with a shift from teaching to the corporate world! grateful to God for the courage and confidence to take this step. missing the cackle and babble of my students, but excited to see where this new chapter leads ✨

[haly-reads]

Frankenstein 2025 is cinematic brilliance.

I decided to read the book first, because I hail the source material. And written by Mary Shelley in the year 1818, an age when such a work was indeed a miracle.

I was awestruck by the versatility encompassed in every scene and detail. Guillermo del Toro has created wonders with his vision of the book. Yes, the adaptation took a complete u-turn from the book and though it did raise my eyebrow for a brief moment in the beginning, I found it completely justified from his artistic perspective.

@oscarisaac lived in his role. Victor Frankenstein played God, the ultimate and obsessed scientist. What amazed me is @christianconvery 's acting as young Victor. His portrayal was equally fabulous and showed such vulnerability.

One of the best things I loved about this adaptation is the agency given to Elizabeth Lavenza, played by Mia Goth. She stood as the symbol of kindness and ethereal beauty in and out throughout. Her kindness to the creature moved me deeply.

And coming to the creature. Forgive me, I don't fangirl much, but I do believe only Jacob Elordi would look utterly moving and handsome even as a monster. He showcased his role as a scary one but also with such vulnerability, especially during his stay in the mill.

All other minor and supporting characters did a wonderful job and my most favourite was the blind old man. His wisdom as depicted by Shelley in the book seeped into the movie as played by David Bradley.

This Frankenstein is the perfect example of how artistic freedom must be indulged in the world of cinema.

[haly-reads]

nov 05, '25: love to see the details on temple and church architecture// 📍trivandrum, kerala

[haly-reads]

oct 18, '25: vuong, on reading//

[haly-reads]

sept 07, '25: are we getting stuck in limbo & gradually becoming immune to it? read it in my substack!

[haly-reads]

august 31, 2025: the day I put Frankenstein to rest. i finished reading it and whilst i took my sweet time while doing so, it emerged to be a gem among the few of my recent reads//