As there are no niqqud, punctuation, or cantillation marks (called trop in Yiddish) in a Sefer Torah, and these are required features of the reading, the baal keriah must memorize them beforehand.
He then rolls the scroll closed, holding on the right and left rollers (or sides of the case), turns slightly to the right and recites the blessings over the reading.
The congregation answers "amen," the scroll is unrolled again, and then the baal keriah chants the section, holding onto the left roller and pointing, usually with a specially-made ornate pointer called a yad in his right.
The oleh then closes the scroll, holding onto both the rollers as before, turns slightly to the right and recites the concluding blessings.
At that point, the oleh circles counter-clockwise about the bimah, taking the longest path back to his seat, as if reluctant to leave the Torah.
On the Sabbath and holidays, the baal keriah will recite the half kaddish at the bimah after the penultimate reading.
After the maftir reading, the scroll is raised and shown to the congregation, and then wrapped in its decorative and protective garb.
The baal keriah then joins the rest of the congregation in listening and reading the haftorah quietly along with the maftir.
The baal keriah will repeat this phrase after the congregation, and the oleh will recite the blessings after the reading as normal.
[2] If the baal keriah is himself called up as the oleh, he stands alone in front of the scroll, kisses the section to be read as usual, and recites the preparatory blessings like other olim.
The Megillah is read during the festival of Purim, commemorating the rescue of the Jewish people from an genocidal decree written and promulgated by Haman.
[4] The Book of Lamentations, known as Eichah from its first word, is read on Tisha B'Av, the anniversary of the destruction of both the First and Second Temples.
It is read in a sad tune, with all present, including the baal keriah, sitting on low cushions or chairs on the ground, in the manner of mourners.
The reading of Eichah is not a commandment to the same degree as the Torah, Haftorah and Megillah, and so it is common to chant it from a printed text, rather than from a handwritten scroll.
To practice for the Torah reading, a baal keriah will usually use a special book called a Tikkun.
Often, such Tikkunim will have a collection of laws and treatises on Biblical Hebrew grammar especially relevant to the baal keriah.