There's so much I want to read and so little time to do it.
Is it okay to use my commuting time for reading and not for socializing with co-worker(s) that sometimes share the same transport?
I politely explained my reasons lately to one of them and it went well. Is such behaviour acceptable in the international business setting?
It is perfectly fine for you to excuse yourself and go about your own stuff after you have greeted your coworker and maybe exchanged a few sentences of chit-chat. This doesn't have to be long. Especially if it is only one coworker. If you are on a bus/train that lots of coworkers use you may get away with a slight nod or hello or if you are already deeply emerged in your reading no reaction at all might be ok too. Then you should acknowledge them however once your reading is done. It all depends on your coworkers though and the social norms of the country your are in, you don't need to be the one to initiate contact but you should be friendly and at least exchange a few words of banter when someone starts a conversation with you.
Reading your question brings up another issue though. You seem very eager to tell us all the smart things you read even though it has zero relevance to your question. And you flex a lot of your interests to us. For this question it doesn't matter at all if you want to read the latest on the job news or Jane Austen novels. You definitively come across as arrogant to me in this question and this will likely also transfer to conversations with your coworkers.
It might be the case that your coworkers already perceive you as arrogant and rude. If this is the case you should definitively invest some time in building up better relationships. Small talk on the train/bus and in recesses could be very helpful in building better relationships. And every job is not only about your technical knowledge but also a lot about working good in teams. Good personal relations will do wonders for you in your jobs and for your career. You can forget your dream of creating a start up if you don't build up important networks and learn to build relationships.
Is such behavior acceptable in the international business setting?
If you completely ignore your coworkers sitting next to you in public transportation, this will seems odd to me.
The question is the balance.
You don't have to chat with them all the time on the ride. You can say few hellos, ask them how their day is going and at some point say
Please excuse me, I like to read/count birds/watch/...
If you prefer reading books/news/looking at the window it is perfectly fine, but make sure you will not end up as "the strange person from floor 5 who doesn't say hello to his coworkers in the bus"
Yes, it's perfectly acceptable to make the normal pleasantries and then put headphones on or read for the duration.
Quite possibly your colleagues are already doing the same, just doing the social formalities with no real interest in anything else.
How about this: Every other day, talk to your coworker about some of the stuff you have read the day before. This will help you process the information better, kind of like Rubber duck debugging.
