The May Journal

The true recession indicator? The resurgence of vampires in pop culture.

May 24, 2025

But Wait, There’s More is a weekly-ish blog + newsletter by Lizzie Campbell (me!) a designer, artist, and homebody living in Chicago. Each week, subscribers will receive a roundup of things to read, watch, buy, or enjoy. If you’re interested in supporting my ~~caffeine addiction~~ work, consider subscribing.

Elsewhere: Instagram | Goodreads | Tiktok

Dear Friend,

Oh, May. It’s been a lovely and stressful month in equal measure (maybe that’s just life?). My best friend visited for a beautiful weekend full of hot girl walks, bookstores, $8 iced coffees, and lots of Below Deck in between seeing Sinners and Hadestown. We got a new couch and new rug that I’m absolutely in love with. And then my poor pup had to go to the vet back to back for a cascading series of events that ended with her getting a molar extracted surgically because she managed to break it clean in half at some point. She’s on the mend (and very cuddly when on painkillers) but there’s honestly few things more stressful than dealing with a sick pet (and why can they never get sick during veterinarian office hours?).

I’ve also read a lot of good books, the sun has been out more than not, and in a couple weeks I’ll be visiting Kansas to see my two best friends in the world, so things are looking up.

Love always,

Required Reading

Articles, links, memes, or Instagram captions I think you should read.

Taylor Jenkins-Reid (author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & the Six) is teaming up with The Chicks to create a jukebox Broadway musical featuring the Chicks music and based on Goodbye Earl. Pinch me, I’m dreaming.
In case you haven’t heard, the new Pope is from Chicago and we’re all being very normal about it.
Someone made a mobile version of the Windows Space Cadet pinball game for Android, and wow it takes me back. I used to play this game for hours in my family’s computer room (yes I’m old).
My coworker/friend’s Substack Stoop Cats never fails to make me laugh. It’s impossibly charming and perfect when you need a break from the never ending cacophony of horrible things happening every day.

May Moodboard

Things I’m inspired by this month.

The movie Sinners. Wowowowowow. I heard a brief synopsis (and that it involved vampires) and was like “yeah, sure, I’ll check it out.” What I wasn’t expecting was the best new film I’ve seen probably in years. I LOVED it. The music. The vibes. The cinematography. Good lord. If you like music, the south, vampires, or any combination thereof, please go see this movie.
Speaking of vampires, I’m working on a recap of everything I’ve read this spring, but I had to mention Hungerstone by Kat Dunn. I already knew I was in for a good time when I opened the first page to see the quote “Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?” on the dedication page. I devoured this book in a single afternoon (pun intended). It’s a retelling of Carmilla (which I still haven’t read yet, oops) the story that went on to inspire Dracula. I’ll let my 5-star Goodreads review speak for itself: “this book has everything: vampirism. misandry. gothic horror. revenge. lesbianism. it may have been written specifically for me. 100/10”
I also saw Hadestown while it was in Chicago (it’s been a great month for culture here) and I adored it. For the first time ever, I went in fully blind to a musical, not having listened to any songs beforehand. I knew the plot synopsis but that’s about it. It was so beautiful, I can’t recommend it enough!h